Battle Royale: WTF Edition!
by JenJenJen13
Summary: Manga-AU; Shinji accidentally starts rumors that he's dating Takako. She's furious. Now they're fighting a mini-Battle Royale to protect their reputations and drive each other crazy, along with denying their growing feelings for each other. Completed!
1. From Humble Beginnings

Disclaimer: If I owned Battle Royale, Shinji woulda shot Kiriyama in the face. Lots of times. And Takako woulda kicked Mitsuko's ass.

Hi there! I've written two one-shot Shinji/Takako stories, and here's the big one I've been talking about in both of the one-shots.

First off—this story is completely, totally the opposite of what you'd expect from a BR story. There's so many great BR fics out there depicting other ideas of what happened on that infamous island to everyone's favorite class of junior high schoolers… but I wanted to do something DIFFERENT. So I came up with this.

My favorite part of BR, aside from the kickass storyline and basically every other part about it, except for Mitsuko and Niida, I hate them, is the characters! They're so cool! Don't YOU wish you could hang out with Shuuya and Yoshi and the gang? Or stare at Kawada until he turns around and wonders WHY you're ogling him? Or sneak into the boys' locker room after some basketball game and watch Shinji change his—you get it!

Anyway, I took the characters and dropped them into a completely different, comical setting, basically living the lives they lived BEFORE the program happened and totally wrecked their lives. :)

Anyway, if you've read anything else of mine you'll know Shinji is my favorite of them all. I absolutely love him the best :) He's followed closely by Shuuya, Takako and Shogo, (unfortunately I couldn't work Shogo in very well… :P) so it mostly features Shinji, Shuuya, and Takako. I think it's a funny story. Hell, I wrote the thing and I laugh at certain parts. If you hate the idea of turning BR into a comedy story, then GO AWAY, you'll hate this too!

Give it a shot; I'm posting the whole thing up anyway, even if you guys hate it! :D

Rating for this is T, PG-13, whatever; there's profanity, sexual innuendo, ect., but nothing too bad. ;)

* * *

**Chapter One**

Shinji Mimura liked being the best at everything. And he was.

He was the best basketball player in the school, for one. Shioriwa Junior High School was the number one junior high school for basketball in the country, and he was the best basketball player in the school, which, when you put the two together, ultimately made him the best basketball player in the country. Pretty good accomplishment for a fifteen-year-old!

He was great at hacking into databases, computers, anything—his uncle DID teach him how to do that, but his natural instincts helped him pick it up fast.

He was also ridiculously good looking, if he did say so himself, and not to mention the only guy he knew who could pull off a hoop earring and not look stupid.

Bouncing the basketball in his right hand a few times, he raised his arms and shot the ball, smirking triumphantly as the ball sailed through the mesh net. Sure, this was only gym class, but his reputation as "the greatest basketball player of all time…at this school" wouldn't uphold itself. His perfect, "Never-ever-ever-ever missed a shot and never-ever-ever-ever will" record hadn't been broken yet, and he wasn't planning on breaking it anytime soon either.

"MI-MU-RA!! MI-MU-RA!!" screamed the unofficial Shinji Mimura fan club, who were occupying their regular seats on the gym bleachers, and apparently were skipping their respective class, because none of them belonged in this gym class.

Shinji raised his hands triumphantly in the direction of the girls, and shot them a grin, causing nearly half of them to fall off their seats and the other half to scream hysterically in their excitement. What a bunch of nutcases. Still, Shinji never got tired of hearing girls screaming his name.

"Cut it out, Mim, or your head's gonna explode," said Shuuya Nanahara, one of Shinji's best friends. Although Shuuya wanted to be a rock star when he grew up, in the meantime he made a pretty good point guard, so here he was.

"Hey, it's not MY fault I'm the greatest thing that's ever happened to basketball," Shinji replied, still playing up the crowd of girls.

"I don't mean it like that, you jerk. You're leading them on," Shuuya complained.

"Why the hell do you care? I don't see Noriko out there," Shinji grinned, watching Shuuya fluster.

"I-I-I do not like Noriko!! She's just a friend!!" Shuuya stammered, blushing. A _pretty_ friend, he mentally added, thinking of pretty Noriko Nakagawa and her smile and her laugh and her big, brown eyes and her cute—

"Oh, shut the hell up," he finished lamely.

Shinji laughed. "Whatever. C'mon, bell's about to ring and I'm hungry." He tossed the ball on the ball rack and he and Shuuya left the gym, the girls having gotten to their feet and screaming for an encore.

* * *

"Damn," Shuuya commented. "Holy shit, Mim. Just when we're tied, your stupid fan club comes along and quadruples your score. How many're you at? I'm at eight... Megumi's apparently been checking me out when I'm not looking." He sighed.

Shinji thought for a second. Being two of the most attractive and desirable guys in school, he and Shuuya often kept track of how many girls proclaimed their uncontrollable love for them every day. Neither one of them had a steady girlfriend throughout their years at the school, so most of the girls hadn't lost hope yet. "If you count those lunatics, at least 20," he said, running his fingers through his hair to fix it back up again. "Wish they'd leave me alone."

"Don't hold your breath," Shuuya grinned, taking off his sweaty gym shirt and buttoning his white school oxford-style shirt up. "Why don't you just ask one of 'em out, Mim?"

"Because I don't LIKE any of them," Shinji complained, pulling his own shirt off (woohoo, I love being author xD). "They're annoying. Besides, I don't _want _a girlfriend. They're whiny and all high-maintenance. I don't wanna put up with that crap. Sure, you get ass, but I'm Shinji Mimura, I can get that whenever I want it."

"Not too cocky there," Shuuya said, rolling his eyes. "Aside from the ass part, I'm with you. Too much trouble having a girlfriend."

Shinji laughed. "C'mon, Shu, how dumb do you think I am? You've had the hots for Noriko ever since you saw her."

"No, I don't!" Shuuya whined. "Dammit, Mim! You're such an asshole!"

"Oh no! I've got no reason to live anymore!" Shinji said, holding his hand to his forehead in mock horror. "I think I might just die! Shuuya Nanahara, the unofficial Pussy of the Year, just called me an asshole!" He frowned thoughtfully. "You think if I put my gym shorts on my head they wouldn't recognize me leaving?"

"No, they'd recognize your ass," Shuuya replied. Seeing the look Shinji was giving him, he held up his hands defensively. "Hey! Stop giving me that look, man, those girls in my math class were talking about it!" He pushed the locker room door open and the two boys headed in the direction of the school door.

"Just my luck, to be born so ridiculously good looking," Shinji said, elbowing Shuuya. "Too bad for you, Shu. You'd have double the girls chasing you if only you didn't hang around me."

"You are such a dick," Shuuya grumbled. "Why DO I hang with you again?"

"Because you know greatness when you see it," Shinji grinned. "Besides, I've always—" THUMP. "Oww!"

As the two boys walked past the door to the girls' locker room, it swung open and out came Takako Chigusa, who wasn't watching where she was going. She walked right into Shinji. Or Shinji walked right into her. Either way, there was a collision, and both of them yelped, fell backwards, and hit the floor.

"Oww," Takako scowled, brushing her long orange-streaked hair out of her face. "Dammit, Mimura! You blind or something?"

"What the hell are you talking about? You walked into me!" Shinji pointed out, rubbing his shoulder.

"Well lucky for you I'm not hurt," Takako replied. "Otherwise I'd beat your hoop-shooting ass into next week, you hear me?"

"If you were hurt, you wouldn't be able to beat my ass," Shinji smirked, getting to his feet. "There's no need to apologize. I'm fine, no thanks to you. Need a hand?"

Takako scowled at Shinji's offered hand and got up, crossing her arms. "I'm not taking any help from you. Even if I WAS hurt—"

"Alright, alright, save your breath, I get it," Shinji said quickly, shutting her up. "Geez, Takako. Sugi mentioned that you could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I thought he was exaggerating."

Takako scowled. "And I hear you're a man-whore, Mimura, but I'm not shoving that into your face, am I?"

Shinji scowled right back. Takako Chigusa could be so annoying sometimes he wanted to strangle her. Too bad she was gorgeous. What a waste.

"That was a long time ago. Get some new material, why don't you," Shinji replied, resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at her like his nine-year-old sister would in this situation.

"Yeah, whatever. This conversation is over," Takako said smugly, and walked off.

"Geez. What a psycho," Shuuya commented.

"A hot psycho," Shinji agreed. "But a psycho none the less. Wanna get going, before any more girls so blinded by their lust walk right into me?"

"I heard that, Mimura!!" Takako hollered over her shoulder.

"As I intended, Takako darling," Shinji called back, while Shuuya chuckled.

"Girls. Confusing, aren't they?" Shuuya laughed.

"Eh, not really," Shinji said indifferently.

"Yeah? Then how come we haven't figured them out yet?" Shuuya wondered.

"Hell if I know. Grow a pair and ask Noriko out, why don't you? Then you can write a report about it," Shinji chuckled, ducking Shuuya's light-hearted punch.

* * *

Yay, so the first chapter comes to a close! What'd you think? Love it? Hate it? Want me to meet the business end of Kiriyama's Uzi? (like Shinji did :( …I'll stop)

Anyway, this is basically just setting up for the real deal in the next chapter. How'd I do keeping Shinji, Shuuya and Takako in character? I think I did alright. Tell me! REVIEW! REVIEW! Hell, even flame me if you want, a flame is better than no review. I don't stay up til midnight writing slop to make myself feel good!

(and of course I couldn't resist putting in the half-naked Shinji and Shuuya references… heheheheh… c'mon, in the manga you see Mitsuko naked practically every other page, would it have KILLED THEM to put in a few half-naked Shinji and Shuuya and Kawada pictures for the girls? GIRLS LIKE BR TOO!!)


	2. And So It Begins

Hooray, Chapter Two, when things start getting crazy! :D

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Hey, you hear that noise?" Shuuya asked. The two boys had made it back to the main school campus and were heading down the main hallway, on their way for the cafeteria to get lunch. The hallway was eerily quiet.

"No. Hear what?" Shinji asked absentmindedly.

"Sounds like a stampede's coming," Shuuya said, and he and Shinji exchanged looks of worry. "Shit! They found us!"

"Hide! Don't let them see the whites of your eyes!" Shinji yelped, turning around and searching for a convenient hole in the wall to hide in.

"AHA!" Shuuya laughed, seizing the door to an unlocked locker and stuffing himself inside. It was a tight squeeze, but he fit. Shuuya shut the door and looked through the small metal slots in the top, meeting his friend's panicked eyes.

"Let me in!" Shinji ordered. "None of the other ones are unlocked! Get out!" When he received no response from his traitorous friend, Shinji looked around for a sign of escape, but the dozen or so screaming girls caught up already, all of them screaming either his name, Shuuya's name, or a various activity they wanted Shinji or Shuuya (or both) to do to them. Although by the looks of these girls, they were Shinji fans, although that didn't mean Shuuya could rest easy, they'd just as soon drag him away if they couldn't find Shinji.

"Uh, hi," Shinji said, double taking over his shoulder and scowling at his laughing friend, hiding in the safety of the locker. Stupid wimp. Alright, think fast, genius. You got yourself into this mess, and now somehow you're gonna get yourself out…

"Hey, shut up, I have an announcement to make," Shinji said, deciding to tell them to take a hike.

Unfortunately he couldn't be heard over the crazed screams. "Shut the hell up, I'm trying to talk here!" he shouted.

The girls kept screaming. Shinji lost his temper.

"WOULD YOU DUMB BITCHES SHUT UP!!" he hollered. Still didn't work.

Getting annoyed, Shinji screamed, "I'm already going out with someone else! Get lost!"

The girls' screaming ceased instantly. Shuuya's eyes widened. What the hell is he up to? he wondered, then shook his head quickly. Shinji Mimura didn't even go to the bathroom without a battle plan. Whatever he was up to, he knew what he was doing.

"WITH WHO!!" Some girl screamed.

Nice one, genius. Make up a name or something.

"Takako Chigusa," Shinji said, then realized what just came out of his mouth. Oops.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT!? ROBO-BITCH!? YOU'RE GOING OUT WITH THE ROBO-BITCH!?" Another girl screamed.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Shuuya hissed, still hiding in the locker behind Shinji's back. "Are you crazy!? You'd rather be murdered than raped!?" So much for Mim having a plan!

Shinji shrugged his shoulders in a desperate plea-for-help way, and turned back to the girls, who instead of shrieking with love for their idol Shinji, were now about to find pitchforks and torches and go kill Takako. "There, I said it! Now get lost, I didn't like any of you anyway," he said, and the mob of girls shrieked in anguish and stomped off, mob physiology already setting in.

"What the HELL did you just do!?" Shuuya asked.

"Terror drives a person to extremes!" Shinji defended himself, now looking more pale and terrified than before. "I just realized something, man, when Takako finds out about this, she's gonna kill me!"

"True," Shuuya said thoughtfully. "Unless your fan club finds her first and kills her."

"I don't want them to kill her!! I'll probably get stuck with a manslaughter charge on my hands!!" Shinji whined, then paused. "Hey, maybe they won't say anything to Takako, and nothing bad happens as a result of this."

"Optimism doesn't suit you, man," Shuuya chuckled. "Hell, I'm usually the obnoxiously positive one, and even I think that's bull." He pushed on the locker door. "Uh oh. Uh, Mim? Want to help me out here?"

Shinji was apparently too lost in his own self-impending doom and didn't hear him.

"Oy, Mim, let me out, this thing doesn't open from the inside," Shuuya hollered. Still no response. Getting desperate, Shuuya yelled, "Takako's coming!"

Shinji's head shot up immediately and he looked around for a place to hide. Shuuya laughed. "Never mind, that's just a plant. But as long as I've got your attention, get me out of this damn sweatbox, yeah?"

"Don't DO THAT," Shinji grumbled, tugging on the latch. "Leggo, it won't open with you grappling the damn thing… damn, this thing's really jammed. You sure as hell did slam the door when you were running for your life, you little pansy."

"Save it for when I'm out of here, would you!?" Shuuya complained.

"Aha! There we go," Shinji grinned, tugging on the clasp and opening the door. The door opened with such a force that it whacked him in the forehead, causing him to yelp. "OW!"

Shuuya laughed. "Nice one!"

"Shut up," Shinji grumbled.

"So Mim, how dead do you think you're gonna be when Takako finds out what you said about her?" Shuuya asked.

"You're still harping about that? I guarantee, you and I'll be the only ones who remember by tomorrow. It's no big deal." Shinji rolled his eyes indifferently.

"Whatever, man, it's your funeral," Shuuya chuckled.

* * *

**The next day…**

"Hey, Mim, exactly HOW long have you been going out with Takako?" Yoshitoki Kuninobu asked.

Shinji, who was drinking from a water bottle, choked and started coughing.

"Calm down, calm down, Shuuya told me what happened yesterday," Yoshi laughed, thumping him lightly on the back. "But you should've seen the look on your face! Guilty conscience?"

"Screw you, Yoshi," Shinji grumbled. "You scared the hell out of me. With friends like you guys, who needs enemies?"

"Oh, don't be like that," Shuuya beamed. "C'mon, who else but your friends can rip on you about shit like this?"

"You've got a point there," Shinji scowled. "As long as it's just you guys, I don't have a problem about—"

Yutaka's arrival interrupted Shinji. "Hey, you guys are never gonna believe what I just heard about—MIM!! Holy crap, man!! Way to go!" he said, clapping Shinji on the back excitedly. "Man, when they say you can get 'em all, you really can!"

"The hell are you talking about?" Shinji asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If anything I should be mad at you, Mim! I can't believe I didn't hear this from you!" Yutaka continued breathlessly.

"YUTAKA! What are you talking about?!" Shinji said impatiently.

"Well, Keita was just saying—"

"Iijima? The hell's he got to do with anything?" Shinji asked, annoyed. It was common knowledge Shinji couldn't stand Keita Iijima, (to everyone but Keita, who was blissfully unaware and followed Shinji everywhere, praising his excellence) and anything out of his mouth probably wasn't worth listening to as far as Shinji was concerned.

"He said you're going out with Takako! And I thought it was crap, 'cause Takako's Takako and you're, well, YOU, but he said it's no mistake because he heard it from your own mouth!" Yutaka said, gaping at Shinji with something close to wonder. "I can't BELIEVE you, Mim!"

"Hey!!" Yoshi said, aghast. "You and Shuuya lied to me!? What, I'm not good enough to know the truth but Iijima is!?"

"I'm not going out with Takako!" Shinji said impatiently. "You can tell Iijima to shove his bullshit up his—"

"Uh, Mim, can we talk?" Shuuya asked, the only one who hadn't spoken yet.

"Huh? Yeah, fine," Shinji agreed, following Shuuya to the back of the room. "What?" he hissed.

"Uh, Mim, remember yesterday? Coming back from the gym? Did it occur to you that those girls told someone?" Shuuya asked. For a self-proclaimed genius, Shinji sure could be a real dumbass…

"What the hell does that have to do with—that loser Iijima must've overheard me and told someone!" Shinji said angrily. "Which works out fine. I needed to update my reasons to hate that little punk anyway—"

"Or one of those dozens of girls told someone," Shuuya suggested, wincing at the dirty look Shinji shot him. "Just a suggestion."

"Well it's only a matter of time before Takako hears about this and kills me," Shinji said, looking terrified. "Oh, great. I'm dead! I've no chance of survival! She's gonna rip my head off! Feel free to stop me," he said to Shuuya, who looked nervous. "Why do YOU look scared?"

"I'm scared for _you_!!" Shuuya said. "What're the odds of this not reaching her ears? Slim to none?"

"With my luck? She's probably grinding the axe right now," Shinji whined.

"Hey, Mimura!" called Mitsuko Souma, walking in the classroom. "I've got a message for you," she purred, walking over to him and Shuuya and beaming seductively at them both. This probably meant she forgot to bring lunch money today, and was trying to use her evil charm to seduce kind, innocent teenage boys from their money (yeah right… well, innocent maybe in the case of Shuuya).

"What?" Shinji asked, eyeing Mitsuko cautiously. They didn't call her "Hardcore Souma" for nothing…

"I bear a message from Takako," Mitsuko smiled evilly. "She says, ah, what was it… Hmm…"

"You forgot already?" Shuuya asked.

Mitsuko tapped her chin thoughtfully. "No, no, no. It just escaped my mind. Now what did she say… hmm… oh, right, now I remember!" She smiled.

Shinji looked at her blankly. "Um… you were about to tell me something…?"

"Oh. Right." Mitsuko smiled evilly again. "She says you're dead."

Shinji's face turned as white as the wall. "How much of a gain do I have on her?"

"She's in the bathroom down the hall waiting for you to walk by," Mitsuko said, and blanched. "Oh, fuck me. Said too much. Well, consider it a warning. I'd skip first period if I were you." She sauntered off, her hips swinging seductively.

Shinji was too terrified to even notice. "Shuuya? Would it be too much to ask for you to—"

"Already ahead of you, mate," Shuuya grinned. "What song would you like me to play at your funeral?"

"Stop taking the piss, you ass. It's not funny! You got me into this mess, you help get me out!!" Shinji begged. "Don't make me get on my knees and beg, Shuuya!"

"Hold it right there! Exactly _how_ did I get you into this mess?" Shuuya demanded. "And would you actually get on your KNEES and BEG?"

"You hid in that locker. If you hadn't been being such a vagina you would have let me hide in the locker, and I never would have said those stupid, _stupid_ words that damned me to death," Shinji whined. "And YES, I would!"

"I see being in mortal peril hasn't stopped you from being a jackass," Shuuya retorted, "but, what the hell, fine. What's your game plan this time, oh ye of little remaining life?"

Shinji grabbed a handful of Shuuya's long shaggy hair and tried to spike it up some like his. "If we can make you look like me, she'll kill you instead!" he said in explanation.

Shuuya swatted Shinji's hands away. "I don't think so! Besides, she's not REALLY going to kill you, that'd be illegal. What's the worst she'll do?"

Shinji paled, apparently picturing the worst Takako could do.

Shuuya gave an award-winning Shuuya Nanahara smile. "It's time for some of my trademarked optimism. Hmm, let's see… ha! I've got it. Think of it this way, if she renders you unable to have children, you won't have to buy condoms anymore! That's one less deduction from your weekly income, Mim!"

Shinji whimpered in fright, sinking to the ground. "I think I'm going to hide here until the apocalypse happens."

The bell rang, telling everyone to leave for first period. Shuuya looked at his friend pityingly. "Sounds like the end of the world to me, man. C'mon, you'll be fine. Besides, you're Shinji Mimura, aren't you always blathering about how no girl can resist your…" Shuuya made a face. "Well, uh, you know the rest."

"Oh, sure. Kick me when I'm down," Shinji whined.

"Nah. I'll be a good friend and help you up," Shuuya said, as he grabbed Shinji's arms and hoisted him up to his feet. "What's first period for you?"

"History," Shinji said, glancing over his shoulder. "And the only way to get there is to pass through Takako's ambush site, if Mitsuko's sources can be trusted. I'm dead, Shu! DEAD!!"

"Not to mention, you're shaking like a leaf," Shuuya chuckled, despite himself. "Women can smell fear. Act natural."

"Easy for you to say," Shinji retorted, "I might deserve a good punch for shooting my big mouth off, but if Takako's as violent as she is hot, I'm dead the minute she sees me!!"

"Come on, it's not that bad," Shuuya said reassuringly, "but, uh, women can smell fear. So act natural."

* * *

Takako leaned against the door to the girls' bathroom, her fists clenched and ready to strike. If that jerk Mimura was going to tell the entire school that they were sleeping together, she'd make SURE he never took the name of Takako Chigusa in vain again.

"Good morning, Takako," Hiroki said, smiling at her, although Takako could tell he was terrified. "So… uh… congratulations?"

One glare from Takako was enough to make him break down. "I'm sorry, Taka! I didn't believe it but everyone's talking about it!" Hiroki said. "Please forgive me!"

"Well, you can start telling people it's not true!! I'm NOT sleeping with Mimura!" Takako growled. "Speaking of which, where is the soon-to-be-neutered little weasel?"

"Last seen, hiding," Hiroki said hesitantly. "Well, if you say you're not sleeping with Mim, I believe you. But, uh, lots of other people are saying you two are, and—"

"And they're playing the rumor game! You know, listening to something a complete idiot says, jumping to horrifying conclusions, which gets the entire school sticking their nose where it doesn't belong," Takako growled. "Well I'm not playing along with this bullshit. You just wait until he shows up, I'll—"

At that very moment, Shuuya and Shinji walked by, Shinji attempting to hide behind Shuuya, which was leaving him completely visible.

Although his status as one kick-ass martial artist was known throughout the school (and we're not talking Power Rangers, here) Hiroki was very gentle and kind, and didn't like having to resort to violence to solve his problems.

Ironically, his best friend, Takako, loved using violence to solve her problems. Hell, she didn't know any other way TO solve her problems. She wasn't a black belt like Hiroki, but she didn't need a colorful belt to tell people she kicked ass. She had the art of terrifying people down pat.

Anyway, about the only person in the universe as of today who could restrain an enraged Takako was Hiroki.

Not today, though. Hiroki felt like he was trapped in slow motion. "Oh shit. TAKAKO STOP!!" Hiroki yelped, lunging for Takako, but he was unable to prevent her attack. Well, nice knowing you, Mim, he thought with a wince.

"GOTCHA!" Takako yelled, grabbing Shinji by his shoulders and slamming him against the wall, grabbing him by the collar of his school shirt to ensure he wasn't going anywhere. "You're gonna pay for this, you lying piece of—"

"Fuck. Takako, please don't kill me here, people are staring at us, at least kill me in the alley and spare me the humiliation—" Shinji began his pre-rehearsed 'begging for mercy' speech, but Takako shook him furiously, interrupting him.

"You think I care how many people are watching!? You sure didn't care how many people were listening when you started telling people we were sleeping together!!" Takako seethed, her teeth clenched.

"Wha…? Oh, shit," Shinji groaned. Didn't take for long for them to twist "I'm going out with Takako!" into THIS. Truthfully speaking, if he WAS going out with Takako, that WOULD mean he was sleeping with her, but THEY WEREN'T GOING OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!

He glanced at her again, admittedly terrified. Takako was certainly angry enough to kill him. She wouldn't believe him if he told her that wasn't what he really said, and he was already going to die, so… why not go out with a bang?

His common sense was telling him not to, but he decided he didn't care. Takako was arguably the best looking girl in the class; she was beautiful, and she had a great body too. _Definitely_ his type of girl.

("Why do I get the feeling he's about to do something stupid?" Shuuya asked.

"Because he's Mim?" Hiroki guessed.)

"Well, why wouldn't I tell people?" Shinji asked, grinning an "You're in for it now" grin at Takako. "Why keep it a secret anymore?"

"What? What the hell're you talking about, Mimura?" Takako asked, confused.

"Would you mind letting me go? I know you like it rough, baby, but this really isn't the place," Shinji smirked, although inwardly he was terrified and hoping Takako's fingernails weren't sharp enough to rip his throat out.

That got the crowd stirring. "Yeah. That fucking does it. I'll show you what I like rough," Takako snarled, and pulled her fist back to promptly slam it into Shinji's face, apparently pausing for dramatic tension. She was probably hoping he'd piss his pants first too.

Shinji yelped. And panicked. And, due to his adrenaline rush and the flight-or-fight defense mechanism, which he would blame later, he did something unspeakably, unforgivably stupid.

He kissed her.

Jaws dropped. Books fell to the ground. Everyone watching gasped. Several took digital pictures. Sugimura and Shuuya exchanged nervous glances, then fished out their own camera phones (after all, Takako might _kill_ Shinji for his nerve, so the more evidence there was the better the situation… at least that was the excuse they were using. This was blackmailing GOLD).

Takako's arm was still raised, her fist still clenched as though ready to strike. She clearly wasn't responding, but she hadn't attacked yet either, which was an alarming sign.

Shinji kept kissing her, slipping his tongue inside her open mouth (open with shock, probably) and trying to prolong his life as long as possible, running his fingers through her long, soft hair. He found himself wishing he was kissing her in such a way that wouldn't grant him instant death, but quickly purged his mind of those thoughts. Concentrate on Takako!

Speaking of Takako, she was a little more than shocked. Slowly, however, and she would later blame her actions on unrequited rage and likely insanity, she responded, her eyes closing as she lowering her fist, and instead moving her hands up his back and running her fingers through his hair.

Shinji was shocked beyond belief when she kissed him back. His eyes were closed, so as far as he knew her fist was still drawn back. Perhaps it was the fact that Shinji knew he was in for it when he stopped, or (more likely) perhaps it was the fact that Takako was a good kisser, but when her fingers tangled in his hair he assumed he was safe. He tilted his head to the side to get a better angle into Takako's mouth, and pulled her closer to him, now having forgotten that he had an audience. He liked kissing Takako… and he wanted to keep doing it.

However, the slight movement caused Takako to snap out of it, and she pulled back to find herself still circled in Shinji's arms. She started looking around in horror, and she was still ready to knock his lights out. Hiroki and Shuuya quickly hid their camera phones from sight, and Shinji didn't seem to be aware of what his own name was at the moment, but for completely different reasons than before.

With a growl of anger and disgust, Takako glared at the audience surrounding her. She flipped her disheveled hair over her shoulder, and with a kick to the leg that made Shinji yelp and quickly snap back to reality, she stormed off. Hiroki watched her go, and cautiously went after her.

"Well, at least you're alive," Shuuya said, obviously trying not to laugh.

* * *

"I can't believe you kissed her like that!" Hiroki said incredulously. "My god, Mim! Do you have a death wish or something?"

"I don't know WHAT I was thinking," Shinji said, shrugging indifferently. "Why, she pissed?"

"She's beyond pissed off, she's crossing over into "psycho" territory," Hiroki said, sighing. "I tried to calm her down. She asked me who's side I was on, hers or yours, and when I said I didn't want to take sides with anyone, she kick boxed me in the stomach, called me a traitor and stormed off. I hope you and your stupid hormones are happy!"

"Yes. They are. And she's a loose cannon!" Shinji complained. "You people make this sound like this is all my fault!"

"It pretty much is," Yutaka pointed out.

"Yeah, Mim, you're the idiot who screamed to a group of girls that you were dating her," Shuuya added. "I can't believe she's so pissed off about the fact that you kissed her, though. She sure looked like she liked it."

"I know _I_ did," Shinji said, rubbing his head. "Even though I've got a bruise the size of my fist from where she kicked me."

"Tell me about it," Hiroki groaned, wincing slightly. "Oof. God, I hope she didn't break my ribs."

"Maybe you should go to the clinic," Yutaka suggested. "C'mon, I'll go with you. It'll get us out of next period…"

Hiroki and Yutaka left, leaving Shuuya and Shinji alone.

Shinji glared at Shuuya. "Hey, enough with talking about how this is my fault in front of Sugi! You know he's gonna tell Takako everything!"

"No he won't! Sugi's on our side!" Shuuya said brightly. "But what are you gonna do now? You know she's going to get revenge for this somehow. Public humiliation and sucking face with her like that in public? You're like a walking dead guy."

Shinji rolled his eyes. "What's she gonna do? Break my neck?"

"Well, she kick boxed Sugimura, her best friend for like ever, in the ribs just because he told her he didn't want to take sides. What do you THINK she's gonna do to the guy who brought this all on?" Shuuya asked. "Once again, I'm scared FOR you."

"Chances are whatever happens next is going to be sneaky, undermined and evil," Shinji said thoughtfully. "Might be fun."

"Are you CRAZY!?" Shuuya demanded. "She's planning World War Three, man! How can you be so, so, NONCHALANT about it?"

"I dunno," Shinji said, tapping his chin with his finger. "I think my subconscious fears of her killing me combined with the adrenaline rush of just escaping death and poisoned my brain as a result."

"No, you just wanna make out with her again," Shuuya challenged.

Shinji feigned deafness. "Huh? What?"

"You can hear me, you jerk!"

* * *

Takako's sworn revenge, Hiroki wants everyone to be friends, and Shuuya's right, Shinji just wants to make out with Takako some more! If you thought it was crazy NOW, it's about to get crazier... :)

Any comments/complaints/criticism/flames/ideas/ect, send me a review! I reply to every review I get, so if you've got a question or something, ask away :D

Question—how am I doing keeping the characters in character? I think I'm nailing Shinji. I had a reviewer comment that Shuuya seems a bit off. Takako is meant to be a little more psychotic than usual, but Hiroki seems a bit wimpier than usual. I purposely make him more submissive to Takako, because I think it's funny how she yells at him. xD Anyway if you think they seem way off to you, (and you've read the manga; I'm going by their MANGA personalities) then tell me!


	3. Reconnaissance Mission

Chapter three! We finally get to see how Takako's been reacting to all of this…

"Sugi, I am so sorry," Takako said apologetically. "Look, I was pissed because of the thing with Mimura, I wasn't thinking properly, and you more than anyone knows what happens when I get angry like this…"

"Too right I do," Hiroki groaned. "Don't say anything amusing, please. It hurts to laugh." He made a face and clutched his ribs. "And breathe, for that matter."

Takako didn't seem to be listening. "I mean, he _kissed_ me! Eww!"

"You seemed to like it back there," Hiroki commented. "It sure did last a while… And besides, you kissed him back!"

"No I didn't!" Takako said defensively. Well, okay, maybe she did, but that wasn't the point.

"Oh don't you lie to me, half the school's got it recorded on their phones, it won't be too hard to prove," Hiroki said, "I won't tell anyone if you did—"

Takako raised her fist menacingly. "Want some more of what I gave you earlier?"

"No, please, have mercy," Hiroki whined, sinking down in his seat fearfully.

"Well, seeing as you're my _best_ friend, and you and Mimura're just regular friends… you're on my side here, right?" Takako asked pleadingly.

"Takako, can't I just stay out of this? Please?" Hiroki whimpered. He hated getting dragged into Shuuya and Shinji's mayhem, and getting involved in a war between two of his closest friends, particularly his two most DANGEROUS friends, wasn't on his agenda at the moment.

"Oh, come on! What kind of friend are you!? You traitor! I'd kill someone for you, and you won't help me out!? At least tell me what the hell Mimura thinks he's pulling!" Takako complained. "Tell him if he wants to get his rocks off he can go screw around with some other girl! I thought he's got them lined up, why the fuck's he screwing with ME—"

"That's the thing. I don't have the slightest idea WHAT Mim's up to," Hiroki rolled his eyes. "He and Shuuya are behind this, not me. I don't think like they do, I just want peace, okay? Can't we all just get along?"

"Oh, that's easy for you to say! He kissed _me_! You didn't have your mouth violated!" Takako whined, shuddering. She wiped her mouth disgustedly on her sleeve, as to scrub any trace of Shinji's mouth from her own. "Gross! Less than ten hours ago his tongue was in my mouth!"

"Stop! Please!" Hiroki begged. He made a face and continued. "You've no idea how many girls are out for your blood, Taka. Mim's such a rock star around here that he's got girls lined up everywhere he goes. Now that he's supposedly hooking up with you, they're going to hunt you down."

"Let 'em try," Takako said indifferently. "Mimura might have won that particular battle, but I'm gonna win the war. And you're gonna help me, whether you want to or not!"

This conversation was headed towards uncharted waters, a territory sweet, kind Hiroki Sugimura didn't like going into. "Uh, I've got to go," Hiroki said, jumping to his feet and nearly shrieking with pain, having forgotten about his aching ribs. "I, uh, have to get to the dojo."

"Since when? It's Thursday," Takako said, her scowl becoming more and more pronounced with every second. "You're just trying to escape, aren't you? AREN'T YOU!?"

"No! Really! It's special-practice-day!" Hiroki panicked. God, he was a TERRIBLE liar!

Takako scowled, and smirked evilly. "Oh, I get it. You just wanna go see what's-her-face, Kayoko, at her flower shop downstairs, don't you?"

"YES!! YES!! THAT'S COMPLETELY IT!!" Hiroki yelled excitedly, grateful for the spoon-fed excuse. "I'll talk to you later, Takako!" He sprinted out of Takako's house, leaving Takako to plan her own evil revenge.

"Is he leaving yet?" Shuuya asked impatiently. "No offense, Mim, and by no offense, I mean all offense intended—this is theSTUPIDEST idea you've EVER had!"

The two were hiding in bushes lining the Chigusa residence. Shinji had decided to follow Hiroki after school to see if he would rendezvous with Takako, and since Hiroki was the most predictable human being in the universe, he did.

"No, he's still in there, and how is this a stupid idea? We know where Takako lives now!" Shinji hissed. "Quit bitching about everything!"

"This is a ridiculous idea, and if you had half a brain you'd know it. We could've figured out where she lived by looking her up in the phone book. And did it ever once occur to you that if Takako finds us here, she can shoot us? This is her land we're on! That's trespassing!" Shuuya complained.

"Shit. Didn't think of that. Well, if you'd shut up we won't have to worry about getting caught, so zip it," Shinji ordered. "What happened to the optimism anyway?"

"It's kind of hard to be optimistic with your sweaty armpit in my face," Shuuya complained. "There's this new thing called DEODERANT out there, perhaps you might like to try it—"

"I'm wearing deoderant! Shut the hell up!"

"Yeah, scent-of-ass—"

"I've got your chicken leg digging into my side, but do you hear me complaining? Shut up! The door's opening!" Shinji snapped.

The door opened, and Hiroki came running out like a bat out of hell. "Wait until he's down the street, I think I see Takako at that window and she'll see us," Shinji hissed.

They waited until Takako was out of sight, then pulled their school jackets over their heads for good measure and ran after Hiroki.

"SUGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!" Shuuya hollered, nearly deafening Shinji and terrifying Hiroki (who apparently thought Takako was chasing after him having been able to tell that his story was BS). Hiroki turned around and looked relieved.

"Oh, it's just you g—OW! Mim! What're you doing!?" Hiroki cried, as Shinji grabbed him by his collar and shook him roughly.

"Start talking! What's she planning!?" Shinji shouted. "What's she gonna do to get back at me!?"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Hiroki demanded, looking outraged. "Let go of me! I'm just an innocent bystander!"

"Oh, and I'm sure you and stupid Takako were catching up on the good old days," Shinji said scornfully. "What's she planning!? This is a matter of life or death here, Sugi, where's your loyalty? You're gonna pick some psycho over your best friends?"

"From where I stand, you two are the psychos! I'm not saying anything that would betray Takako!" Hiroki said, annoyed. "Now leggo! You're going to rip my shirt!"

"Not until you tell me what she's planning!" Shinji threatened, shaking Hiroki furiously.

"No! I won't do it! Let go! Don't make me hurt you!" Hiroki groaned. I'm a god damned martial arts expert; you'd think people would leave me alone!

Shinji looked more pissed off than Takako did at the moment. "God dammit, Sugimura, what kind of lousy friend are you? Of all the things I've ever done for you, all the good times we've had, and I ask you to do ONE THING FOR ME and you refuse? And you call yourself my friend? More like a rotten excuse for one!"

Although Shinji and Takako hated each other, (well, at least Takako hated Shinji; Shinji was more terrified of her) they had more in common than they thought. For one, they sure could play the guilt trip card on poor Hiroki effectively. Because—

"FINE!" Hiroki groaned. "Fine! I'll tell you what she said!" She didn't say anything important anyway…

"What'd she say? What'd she say?" Shinji asked eagerly, pleasantly surprised Hiroki caved so easily.

"To sum it up, she's angry, and you're dead," Hiroki sighed. "She hasn't thought of any plans as of yet. Can I go now?"

Shinji didn't hear his plea for freedom. "Alright, so the whole school thinks we're going out, right?"

"Yeah. You could dump her ass," Shuuya suggested.

"No way, man. _I'll _look like the asshole, and I'll have those damn girls chasing me again," Shinji pointed out. "Hey. I know. I'll act like the perfect boyfriend, y'know, act like she dumped me and all. Beg and whine for her to take me back and stuff. Cry, act sensitive. You know, like Sugi would if he ever had a girlfriend long enough to get dumped."

"Hey!" Hiroki protested. "I'm standing right here!"

"That's not a bad idea," Shuuya admitted. "Sugi, you wanna help launch this thing?"

"What'm I supposed to do about Takako?" Hiroki asked. "I can't exactly join up with you guys if you're about to trash my best friend's reputation, can I?"

"Aw c'mon, we're not gonna trash her reputation, we're just gonna make her look bad," Shuuya complained. "Ah well. Who needs ya?"

"C'mon, Shu, my only remaining LOYAL FRIEND," Shinji said, making a face at Hiroki. "Let's rock this bitch!"

"I'm loyal to everyone! I can sit in during your planning sessions but not participate!" Hiroki suggested.

"Alright then! Let's get planning!" Shinji said, grinning evilly. Hiroki was a total pushover; the minute Takako told him something, Shinji would pry it out of him. Now that the double agent was secured, victory was obtainable!

Three down, a bunch more to go. :)

Comments and cricitism welcome!


	4. The Chigusa Strikes Back

I do not own Battle Royale!

Here we go with Chapter 4. I apologize for not providing page breaks between each POV switch in Chapter 3; I had page breaks on the Word document I typed, but unfortunately Fanfiction doesn't allow Word formatting in their ridiculously-simple word processor. So, sorry about any confusion! And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't worry about it! ;)

Once again thanks to all the nice reviewers; If I wrote you something stupid that makes no sense, or if I rambled, I apologize! :D

* * *

The next day at school, Takako was being interrogated by several of the girls in the class, all of them pestering her about her supposed "relationship" with Shinji Mimura. Which got annoying after about the third question.

"I already told you, I'm NOT going out with Shinji Mimura! And I don't know how big his penis is because I'VE NEVER SEEN IT, nor do I WANT TO!!" Takako finally shouted, losing her patience and slamming her locker door shut, wishing she could stuff herself inside and lock herself away until this whole stupid thing ended.

Or better, she could stuff Mimura in there. It was probably hard to breathe in there… maybe once he started crying and begging for mercy, she'd _consider_ letting him out… :)

"Oh come ON, Takako, there's no use denying it," Yukie Utsumi, Girls' Class Representative and self-appointed Minder of Everyone's Business pestered. "C'mon, everyone's talking about it!" She stopped. "You and Shinji dating, not how big his penis is. Yuka's just disgusting."

"Hey, can you blame me?" chubby Yuka Nakagawa asked, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

"Guys, c'mon, she probably doesn't feel comfortable talking about her sex life," said Satomi Noda, a bespectacled girl who _normally_ minded her own business.

"Thank you. Now leave me—SEX LIFE?" Takako demanded. "What's that got to do with ANYTHING?"

"Well, you have been sleeping with Mimura, haven't you? That's what we've been hearing," Yukie admitted.

Takako was spared a response to that question, and the unsavory mental images that followed, by Shuuya Nanahara's sudden appearance. Recognizing him to be an friend of Shinji's, therefore the enemy and a target for annihilation, Takako clenched her fists menacingly.

"AAAH!!! No, please! Don't kill me! I come in peace!" Shuuya wailed, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Then spit out whatever it is you're going to say, and get out of here!!" Takako ordered.

"Mim says he's sorry for what happened yesterday," Shuuya said, shuffling his feet awkwardly before an evil smile crossed his features.

"And?" Takako demanded, eying him suspiciously.

"And he says you're a good kisser," Shuuya laughed.

Takako chased him clear out of the hall.

* * *

"Sniff, sniff. Oh, I'm so sad," Shinji whined loudly.

Yutaka inwardly rolled his eyes. Shinji was surprisingly a terrible actor when it came to whimpering over a girl, something he'd never once had to do before in his life. ("I watched some soap opera last night with my mom, this is how dumped guys act," Shinji had boasted.) However, he (Shinji) begged him (Yutaka) to help out, so here Yutaka was, patting his supposedly broken hearted friend's back and trying not to laugh.

The only other students in homeroom were (surprisingly) Kazuo Kiriyama's gang and Mitsuko Souma's trio, neither of the two groups caring much about Shinji supposedly bawling his eyes out in the front row. (Well, Mitsuko was laughing, but Yutaka wasn't too sure she was laughing at Shinji or something else, like the guy she probably stabbed to death and dropped in the river.) Yukie and her friends hadn't gotten in yet, and neither had Takako, Shuuya, or Hiroki. Or anyone else.

Yukie's group came in right on schedule, all talking in hushed tones. "I can't believe her," Yukie said, rolling her eyes disapprovingly. "Poor Shuuya…"

"Did you see him run like that? I hope he's okay," Noriko said, sounding worried. "But I can't blame Takako for getting angry at you guys, you should mind your own business."

"Oh, Nori, you're so naive," Yukie rolled her eyes. "I'm class rep, it's my job to get involved with everyone else's problems. Anyway, that's not important. What is important is that psycho Takako just chased poooooooooor helpless Shuuya out of the building when he was just giving her a compliment! I think we really should go to Administration here—"

Yutaka's ears perked. "Uh, Mim? You listening to any of this?"

Shinji gave another fake sob. "How could I, when I'm _SO MISERABLE_?" he asked, nearly yelling the last part to get the girls' attention.

"Drop the act, Mim. They're not listening. I think Shuuya's dead," Yutaka said.

"What makes you say that?" Shinji asked, giving a fake sob as an afterthought, in case anyone noticed. (They didn't.)

"Sounds like Takako got him," Yutaka said, sounding nervous. "He's the first martyr for the cause… and hopefully the last, I've seen this movie and the comic relief guy always dies—"

"Oh stuff it, she doesn't even know who you are," Shinji said, banging his hand on the desk when nobody was paying attention to him.

"Oh, shit, Shinji's right there—you're not hearing this, are you?" Yukie asked, turning to see the basketball star. Shinji had forgotten he was supposed to be crying; Yutaka rolled his eyes and gave him a hard smack to the back of the head, and Shinji, remembering his own stupid plan, immediately broke into fake crying, causing all the girls to gasp and rush over to him.

"I'm sad," Shinji explained, doing a really bad job of pretending to cry and wipe his eyes on his sleeve.

"What's wrong?" Yukie asked sympathetically.

"Anything I can help with?" Yuka Nakagawa asked eagerly, rubbing her chubby hands together.

Despite his disgust, Shinji shook his head. "Not unless you can… not unless you can…" He let out a loud (fake) sob. "Not unless you can make Takako love me again!" he wailed, and buried his face in his arms on the desk.

Yutaka was trying not to laugh. Shinji was normally a pretty good actor, but when it came to mourning over the loss of a girl, it was completely uncharted waters. (In other words, this was pretty friggen hilarious to watch.)

Noriko didn't look convinced, folding her arms and tilting her head thoughtfully.

Shogo Kawada, the hot rugged exchange student, rolled his eyes and muttered something about finding a different school to transfer into.

Kazuo Kiriyama's gang started laughing; well, Kazuo didn't care, but his three gangbangers Ryuhei Sasagawa, Mitsuru Numai, and Hiroshi Kuronaga were snickering.

"Hey!" Sho Tsukioka, Class B's only (admitted) homosexual, and one of Shinji's #1 fans (much to Shinji's disgust), protested. "Don't make fun of him! I think Shinji just needs a hug!"

"Sure, if you want fucking Chigusa going after you," chuckled Ryuhei.

"Get a grip, Tsukioka!" Mitsuru snapped, "We don't have any room for faggots in the gang! Right, boss? Right? Right? Don't we? Boss, your hair's a little messed up, do you want me to fix it for you? Boss?"

Kazuo showed a brief flicker of emotion by glancing up at the ceiling.

Mitsuko Souma and her crew were also watching Shinji's performance, clearly not convinced either.

"What a load of bullshit," Mitsuko said, shaking her head. "See, that's why I _hate_ men! They're all a bunch of liars! All they're good for is their bank accounts!"

"You're telling me. Is anyone actually going to fall for that?" Hirono Shimizu asked, making a face.

"Aww, poor Shinji!" Yoshimi Yahagi said, "I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO LOVE YOU!"

Everyone stopped to turn and look at Yoshimi curiously. Yoshimi, realizing she'd said her outburst out loud, blushed and hid behind her school bag.

Since Yoshimi wasn't interesting enough, the other girls quickly returned their attention to Shinji, gasping in shock, unable to believe that he was so devastated after losing Takako.

"Did she dump you?" Yukie asked, with all the sensitivity of a blunt axe tearing through your neck.

"Through a text message," Shinji whimpered, inwardly happy dancing that these girls were so gullible. "I haven't been able to stop crying…" He gave another pathetic sob and put his head down. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone… leave me to my misery…"

The girls cooed sympathetically and put their heads together to keep track of all the gossip flying about the school.

Mitsuko Souma got up. "Where're you going, Mitsu?" Hirono asked.

"Oh, I've some business to take care of," Mitsuko said, "Don't worry about it." She got up to leave.

Meanwhile, from under his arm on the desk, Shinji grinned at Yutaka, who just groaned.

* * *

Well, that takes care of HIM, Takako thought, once again at her locker trying to retrieve her books without interruption. Those stupid girls had apparently left once she chased after Shuuya, and she had chased him outside the school before deciding her goal was achieved. Shuuya was now terrified of her and would probably report his failure to Shinji.

Stupid Shuuya didn't even turn around to see if she was still behind him; he might still be running and screaming. Takako smirked at the idea. Hopefully he'll trip and get run over by a—

"Hey. Takako!"

"I AM NOT HAVING SEX WITH SHINJI MIMURA!!" Takako shouted, slamming her locker door shut and whirling around to face the soon-to-be-dead person behind her. "And if you're here to ask me how good he is in bed, or how big his—"

She stopped when she saw Mitsuko Souma standing there. "Oh. What do _you_ want?" she asked. Mitsuko 'Hardcore' Souma was not the type to giggle and gossip like an innocent schoolgirl. Because she WASN'T an innocent schoolgirl, she was a—

"Nothing to do with Mimura's talents in bed, believe it or not," Mitsuko said, making a face. "I've come to offer advice."

"What the hell kind of advice can you give? I'm not _really _screwing him," Takako rolled her eyes.

"Watch it, girl," Mitsuko scowled. "You're obviously going up the wall trying to think of ways to stop people from gossiping about this, right?"

"Well, yeah," Takako said suspiciously. "Why?"

"Gossip's not important, don't waste so much time trying to reverse it. I know what I'm talking about here," Mitsuko said, holding her hand up to prevent from interruption. "But if I were you, I wouldn't let Mimura have all the fun. Understand what I'm saying?"

Takako's eyes lit up. Payback, and in a way that wouldn't get her expelled or land her in prison!

"I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but that's a damn good idea, Mitsuko," Takako said slowly. "I hadn't thought of that…"

"And, uh, be careful walking in there," Mitsuko added as an afterthought. "Call it a hunch, but I think he's up to something."

Takako nodded, and Mitsuko smiled. _I am such a good person,_ she thought, mentally patting herself on the back.

_

* * *

_

Takako at this point entered the room, looking triumphant (Yutaka assumed it was probably because she killed Shuuya and threw his body in the river). She glanced at Shinji, surrounded by girls (and Yutaka, but Takako counted him as a girl) and pretending to cry for some reason. She groaned, knowing whatever he was up to had something do with her.

Three, two, one.

"Takako, I can't believe you!" Yukie gasped, pointing at her accusingly. "Look what you did to poor Shinji!"

Five points for me, Takako thought with a groan.

Shinji looked up, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes and winking at Takako, before slumping over on the desk again. Takako noticed this and scowled. "I'm sure he'll live," she said.

"Look at him! He's heartbroken! How can you do that to him?" Yukie demanded.

"You want him, Yukie? You can have him," Takako rolled her eyes, and remembered what Mitsuko said. Playing along with this charade would go against everything she believed in, but it might be fun to screw with these girls's (and Shinji's) heads… mostly Shinji's.

Reluctantly she swallowed her pride, dignity, self-respect, and her breakfast, and shrugged indifferently. "After all, what can I say? He was fun while he lasted, but… I just got bored."

Shinji's head shot up, shooting her a suspicious "What-are-you-up-to" look.

Takako winked at him and turned back to the girls. "Alright, I'll admit it. Sure, I hooked up with Mimura. Lots of times, actually."

"I KNEW IT!" Yukie shrieked, while all the other girls gasped.

Takako smirked at the absolute shock on Shinji's face, and continued. "He was alright, I guess. But he's not even half as good—or as big, while I'm on the subject—as they say he is. What a load of crap."

"No way!" Yuka gaped, looking disappointed. "How big!?"

Takako, ignoring Yuka, continued. "That's why I dumped his sorry ass. Would've done it sooner, but I didn't want the whole universe to hear about us dating, much less us breaking up." She shot a glare at Shinji. "Clearly, DUMBASS here doesn't know how to keep a secret."

Shinji was staring at her, and his mouth was hanging open. Yutaka was trying very hard not to laugh, doubled over (although being so short, nobody noticed the difference) with his fist stuffed in his mouth to stay quiet.

Hiroki entered the room, recognized a Shinji and Takako event going on, and turned around to leave again. No, sir. NOT GETTING INVOLVED.

The other girls apparently were satisfied with Takako's update and retreated to their corner in the back of the room. Yukie stared at Takako in awe as she went, and the minute the coast was as clear as it was going to get Shinji glared at her.

"What're you up to? You can't turn my own game against me!" Shinji hissed accusingly. "And what's "He's not half as good as they say he is" about!? Don't knock it 'til you try it, you evil, deceptive—"

Takako interrupted. "Sorry, Mimura," she said loudly, knowing perfectly well Yukie and her friends were still watching. She shocked the hell out of him by leaning in towards him and kissing him, holding his shoulder, more to keep him from falling off his chair in shock than anything else.

Hiroki poked his head back in the room hesitantly, took one look at what was going on, and withdrew to leave again.

When she assumed the job was done, Takako made to lean away, but Shinji put his arms around her and returned her kiss. Takako, figuring out what he was up to, opened her mouth, which shocked the hell out of Shinji, but he took advantage of it. You might have won the battle, but I'm gonna win the war, he thought.

There were loud catcalls and whistles as the rest of Class B came in the classroom, along with Yukie's group, and Takako heard the noise, surprising Shinji even more by straddling his lap and putting her hands on his chest. His brain was starting to feel fuzzy.

Takako pulled away from the more-than-shocked Shinji and smirked at him, making sure the entire class were still watching. "You're fighting fire with fire, Mimura," she hissed, so only he could hear her. "And I'm gonna burn your ass." She grabbed her bag and stomped out of the room, (probably to go sit in the bathroom and throw up until homeroom was over) wiping her mouth on her sleeve disgustedly.

Yutaka stood up, very surprised. "Am I the only one who didn't see that coming?" he asked. "Uhh, Mim?"

Shinji fell off his chair onto the floor.

* * *

"That girl can run," Shuuya said incredulously. "Shit. I don't think I've ever ran like that in my life." Despite being one of, if not the, fastest guy runner in their class, Shuuya learned the "there was no outrunning Takako Chigusa when she was pissed off" lesson the hard way. Ouch.

"Well, there was a deranged maniac chasing you," Yoshi said, staring at Shuuya with something close to awe. "Darn it, I miss all the good stuff."

Shinji hadn't said anything, looking dazed. "What's the matter with him?" Shuuya asked, waving his left hand in Shinji's face. "Oi, Mim, guess what your psycho girlfriend did—"

"Uh, you guys missed it this morning," Yutaka said, still trying not to laugh. "Mim was pretending that Takako dumped him and was acting all heartbroken, but when Takako came in the room she told all the girls in the class that she really did hook up with Mim, and she dumped him 'cause she got bored, and before she left she kissed him again, and they started making out big time. He hasn't said anything since."

"WHAT!? Wake up!" Shuuya hollered, smacking Shinji on the back of the head. "You owe me big time!"

"Ow!" Shinji complained, returning to reality and scowling. "What?"

"Aww, why'd you do that, Shuuya? He's going to start talking again!" Yutaka laughed.

"You fuckhead! You're off making out with Takako, while I'm off delivering _your_ stupid messages, fighting _your_ stupid battles and getting chased into four-way intersections!!" Shuuya shouted.

"Oh, shut up! Like I knew she was going to pull my entire plan out from under me!" Shinji retorted. "It's almost like she KNEW what I was planning!" His eyes narrowed and glared over at Hiroki who was quietly reading nearby. "ALMOST LIKE SOMEBODY TOLD HER."

"No," Shuuya interrupted, realizing what Shinji was saying. "No, no, no way, Mim!! Sugi wouldn't do that to us—"

"Betray me, huh? I'll show him," Shinji growled, not listening to anything Shuuya was saying. "Oh, he's gonna regret stabbing me in the back!"

* * *

Poor Hiroki. :) It's starting to seem like every chapter will end with something terrible about to happen to Hiroki. XD

This chapter was pretty long! (2,570 words, not counting the author notes!) I would have tacked that last bit onto the next chapter, but it didn't start the chapter off as well as I'd have liked…

And how long has BR had a character search filter? I didn't think BR would _ever_ get one of those… it's usually the HUGE story catagories that get those! I got to spend five minutes yesterday updating my search filters for all my BR stories. XD

Which reminds me, time to shamelessly promote my other BR stories. GO READ THEM! THEY ARE EQUALLY AS AWESOME AS THIS STORY!! PLEASE! :D


	5. Master of Disguise

Hey again! I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I, for one, am so stuffed with food the only thing I am physically able to do is sit in front of my computer and upload stuff. XD Back to the crazy exercise routine tomorrow, I figure. Hey, it's Thanksgiving, it only comes around once a year, right? ;)

I could go on forever on the greatness of food and Thanksgiving, but on a more related note, I bring you… chapter… uhh… what is this, five? I don't remember! Too much turkey! (Ok, that's the _last_ time I blame Thanksgiving!!)

From the reviews, sounds like most people are rooting for Takako! :) I would tell you who I'm rooting for, but, uh, I think I'm a bit biased. XD

Is this thing on? Does anyone actually read this? :) If you do, HI!

* * *

"Hey, Takako, when's the wedding?"

"Why the hell would Mimura go out with _you_? You paying him or something, Chigusa?"

Comments ranging from "You go, girl!" to "Slut!" followed Takako everywhere she went around school over the next several days. The only two people in the entire school who WEREN'T teasing her (aside from Kazuo Kiriyama's gang and Shogo Kawada, none of whom cared) were Hiroki, Kayoko Kotohiki, Noriko Nakagawa, Mitsuko Souma and her gang, and for some reason, Kazushi Niida.

Hiroki was her best friend; if he made fun of her at all, or showed any signs that his loyalty wasn't 100 percent in her favor, she'd break his neck. So his meek resistance was expected. Kayoko was a girl with a crush on Hiroki; obviously if she wanted some chance with Hiroki, she must have figured that making fun of his best friend wasn't the best way to pick up a boyfriend.

Noriko Nakagawa was one of Yukie's drones, or so Takako had always thought; she had gotten annoyed with Yukie's gossiping, and she started talking to Takako more. Not that Takako really cared; Noriko was nice, but she was about as interesting as watching paint dry, not to mention she was one of the rabid Shuuya fangirls so she'd never put a toe out of line against him. In other words, she was useless.

Kazushi Niida kept telling people off, probably because he wanted Takako for himself. He didn't obviously know this, but Takako would ACTUALLY sleep with Shinji before she gave Kazushi the time of day. Shinji was at least hot; Niida was, as Takako put it, "EWWW".

He was also shooting glares at Shinji whenever he was around, but Shinji either hadn't noticed, or didn't care. All things considered, even if he _was_ fighting for Takako's affection, Kazushi wasn't much competition.

Shinji was nowhere to be found most of the time; when he was forced to share a room with Takako, he would come to class a second before the bell rang, sit closest to the door for a quick escape, and whenever they were given free time during class, he would dart to the bathroom to hide until the bell rang, usually followed by Shuuya.

Shuuya was in the same boat; he sat far away from her whenever he wasn't hiding with Shinji, his eyes darting to her nervously when she glared but didn't attack.

Hiroki told her at least a dozen times a day that it would pass, but he didn't seem too convinced himself. Shinji and Takako were the most talked-about couple in school (much to the dismay of "Cutest Couple" Kazuhiko Yamamoto and Sakura Ogawa), and their apparent "breakup" caused even more gossip.

Three days after the scene in homeroom, Yukie Utsumi and Haruka Tanizawa sat down where Hiroki and Takako were eating lunch. Takako glared at them, but they stared back, unperturbed. "Takako," Yukie said, "When are you going to make amends with Mimura?"

"I'm telling you," Takako snarled, her teeth so clenched it was a miracle she could speak at all, "that there IS no Mimura. WE WERE NEVER DATING."

"Sure," Haruka said, rolling her eyes, "he was just cornered by a crazed mob of girls and had to lie to save his life."

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU—"

"Look, you don't have to explain anything to us," Yukie interrupted. "But you're ruining a relationship because of one stupid fight about nothing at all. I don't know why you even tried to keep it secret anyway. I mean, Shinji's such a hottie that every girl in the school wants to get in his pants, so it's really not fair for you to let people think he's single when he's really in love with you."

"How stupid are you guys!? He is NOT in love with me!" Takako shouted, banging her fist on the table and sending Hiroki's drink flying. "He's LYING!"

"Is that why you're so angry all the time, because you don't like seeing other girls trying to flirt with your man? It doesn't take a genius, you know. You've obviously been sleeping together for a while now. You still want him, and you're upset that other girls are trying to get with him too." Yukie folded her arms confidently, clearly convinced.

Hiroki was trying very hard (and failing) to keep a straight face. Takako opened her mouth, closed it, and started banging her forehead against the table loudly.

Hiroki looked at his best friend and couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. He was trying to prevent this from happening by sitting in on Shinji and Shuuya's planning, but he hadn't gotten to Takako in time to tell her what they were up to.

* * *

"You know who I haven't seen for a few days?" Shinji asked thoughtfully.

"Takako?" Shuuya guessed. "I just saw her at school earlier… she told me to jump off a bridge." He made a face.

"Actually I haven't, but I'm not talking about her. That _traitor_ Sugimura hasn't shown his face recently," Shinji growled, squeezing his soda can so firmly it crunched in half. Soda squirted out from the sides and Shinji swore angrily.

Shuuya rolled his eyes and helped himself to some of Shinji's fries. "I really don't think Sugi's got anything to do with this, Mim. I think Takako's just lost her mind."

"The thing is, I've no idea what she wants from me, or I'd give it to her just to get her to leave me alone! She's driving me crazy!" Shinji complained. "What _the hell_ is she up to?"

"I don't know, man, but you've gotta do something fast," Yutaka said. "If this keeps up, you guys really _will_ be sleeping together by Christmas!!"

Shuuya raised his eyebrows. "And the downside of that would be…?"

"_S__huuya_," Shinji whined. "She's… she's evil. She's crazy, psychotic, VERY evil—"

"And hot," Shuuya supplied. "Face it, man, you don't make out like that twice for no good reason. She's up to something. She's declared war."

Shinji groaned. "This would be a lot easier if she wasn't such a babe."

"Why?" Yoshi asked no one in particular. "What's her motivation? How is she getting back at you by making everyone think you're screwing in bathroom stalls? If anything, she'd just be making herself look worse, right?"

"Yeah," Yutaka laughed, "Takako's a step up from who Mim _usually_ screws in bathroom stalls, he's raised his standards—"

Shinji's glare was enough to shut him up.

"Maybe she's _not_ trying to get back at him," Shuuya said slowly. His eyes widened suddenly. "Maybe she's trying to get _with_ him! For real!"

"_W__hat!?"_ Shinji, Yutaka, and Yoshi said in unison.

Shuuya shook his head, looking excited. "Come on, think about it! What if she's just trying to drive you so crazy, kissing you like that—she's playing along, but she's playing along more than she would if she was just trying to keep up the charade. She's trying to make you like her by making your hormones like her!"

"My hormones already like her. My hormones would like nothing more than to fuck her, that last time she kissed me I thought the zipper on my pants was going to split down the middle," Shinji said, rolling his eyes. "That's not a bad theory, but it's not at all like Takako."

"When was the time Takako was like Takako lately?" Shuuya replied. "Technically this is all your fault, Mim, you're the one who fucked with her and got her panties in a bundle. No sexual innuendos intended. But I'm serious, I think she wants you, bad, and I think she's gonna play along until she gets in your pants."

"I don't know… I find it a bit hard to believe that she'd try to seduce me," Shinji said skeptically. "I mean, she could have just asked and I'd've fucked her anytime, no questions asked—"

"Stop!" Yoshi said, holding his hand up pleadingly. "But she's playing something, there's no doubt about that."

"No shit, Yoshi," Yutaka said, laughing.

Shinji sat up suddenly. "Well, she's screwing with the wrong guy. She wants war, I'll give her war." He grinned mischievously. "I don't know what her problem is, but her most likely motive is getting back at me, making me tell the truth. Well, let her try! I'll show her!"

"I know that look," Shuuya said, staring at Shinji as though he might be dangerous. "That look means you're prepared to do something stupid. Something very reckless, including absolute mayhem and a rule-breaking plan that's going to get us all in very deep trouble with Takako, the administration of this school, probably Sugi somehow and maybe even the government."

"Are you in?" Shinji asked him calmly.

Shuuya grinned. "Oh, hell yeah! Of course I'm in!"

"Guys, I've gotta go, my mom's gonna kill me if I'm late," Yutaka said, checking his watch. "But I'm in with whatever you guys do. Let me know what you guys decide to do for tomorrow, alright?"

"Sure, no problem," Shinji said. Yutaka left, but Shinji, Shuuya and Yoshi stayed at the McDonalds they were at until closing time discussing ideas, but at the end they didn't come up with much. All they had was a somewhat suicidal plan to get her to talk.

Unfortunately for Shinji, revenge wasn't completely on his mind. He'd kissed girls before, and nobody, NOBODY, was half as Takako was. In fact, he wasn't sure he'd ever look at Takako the same way again. He always did think she was hot, but more like hot wallpaper. She was there, she was hot, but she didn't do anything.

Who the hell knew she was such a pistol? Well, Hiroki might've said something about it, but Shinji didn't listen to anything Hiroki said unless it concerned him somehow. (Not really.)

A large part of him was confused, but he understood enough of the mess to know he was on dangerous grounds, and things were about to get deadly…

* * *

Shinji's plan was simple: mess with Takako's head. Shuuya would fix his hair to look like Shinji from behind, and Takako would be lured into the room by Yutaka, who (so far) hadn't done anything to piss her off yet. Takako would see who she thought was Shinji, and attack. The real Shinji would grab her and force her to talk.

If Shuuya's "She wants you bad" plan was on target, she would immediately recognize the difference, and kill Shuuya. However if Shinji was right, and Takako was out for his blood, she would probably kill Shuuya, then hunt down Shinji and kill him too for trying to trick her.

There was about eight ways for this plan to go wrong, and if it did, Shinji figured he'd just make out with Takako again and ask her what was going on while she was temporarily stunned, which would be fun even if it didn't work. Unfortunately Shinji had no plan beyond this, so he figured he'd just go with the flow and come up with another idea somewhere along the line.

Yutaka had suggested the library; there was usually only about two people in there, and the librarian was usually off smoking crack or whatever to actually be paying attention to the books.

There were three parts to Shinji's plan, all of which his friends were filling; the Shinji decoy, (aka Takako bait), Hiroki distractor, and Takako lurer. Yoshi had opted to be the Hiroki distractor; Yutaka reluctantly agreed to lure Takako into the library, leaving only one available option. Shinji obviously couldn't be the Shinji decoy…

And needless to say, the decoy wasn't too thrilled.

"Why do I have to be you? Why can't Yutaka be you?" Shuuya whined. "She hates me as much as she hates you, AND she already ran me into a four-way intersection! All you ever do is make out with her, I'M the one taking the beatings here!"

"Yutaka's a foot shorter than I am. Quit bitching, I'd do this for you," Shinji scowled. "Stop moving or I'm going to jab you in the eye with this comb." Shinji was attempting to fix Shuuya's hair to look like his.

"I don't look anything like you! Front or back!!" Shuuya whined, trying to view the back of his head in the bathroom mirror.

"Well, according to Yukie, we both look pretty GOOD from behind," Shinji commented. "Besides, who looks at the back of people's heads anyway? Takako's probably never taken a good look at the back of my head, she won't know. Everyone looks the same when they turn around."

"_Everybody looks the same when they turn around?_ What kind of shit logic is THAT?" Shuuya demanded. "My hair's longer. And I'm not piercing my ear!"

"You don't have to, just keep your head turned. Although it's your own loss," Shinji added as an afterthought. "Here, put this on." He gave Shuuya his black basketball jacket that read "MIMURA" and "3" on the back in red letters.

"Why must I wear this?" Shuuya whined. "I'm already sweating like a god damned—"

"It's got my name on the back, that's why. Quit whining," Shinji said.

Shuuya sighed reluctantly and pulled the jacket on. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes I'm sure, how many more times are you going to ask me that?"

"Mim, it's not like this isn't a decent idea. It's just the fact that it's MY ass on the death seat that's kind of worrying me. I mean, what if she kills me because she thinks I'm you?" Shuuya asked.

"She won't, relax," Shinji said reassuringly. He thought for a second. "Well, she _might_ break a limb or two before I can jump on her to save you—"

"Shut up before I turn back. Look, Yutaka's not around. If you just want to make out with her, say so now, or forever hold your peace," Shuuya said, smirking.

Shinji stopped with his hand on the door to the library and glared at Shuuya. "It is _not_ about kissing her! Yes, she's damn good at it! That's NOT my motivation! I'm going to grab her and figure out what the hell is going on! I don't suppose you've got a better plan?"

"Yeah. YOU be the Shinji decoy," Shuuya groaned. "If I EVER hear you say I never did anything for you—"

"You won't. Alright, get into position, Takako should be coming." Shinji opened the library door.

"So _this_ is a library," Shuuya said, looking around in awe. "I've been at this school for three years and I've never been in this place."

"Me either. Now MOVE," Shinji said, shoving Shuuya in front of one of the big tables.

"What'd Yutaka tell her anyway?"

"He's supposed to tip her off that I'm in here and I want to talk to her. Knowing her, she'll storm in here hell bent on killing me. She'll see your back, think it's you, and when she dives in to kill you, I'll grab her," Shinji said.

"You better grab her," Shuuya whined, "I really don't want her to kill me… and hey, there's a bunch of nerds in here!!"

"Hey! We can hear you, we're sitting right here!" whined the anonymous nerds.

"Quit worrying. I think she's coming." Shinji ran to hide behind one of the bookshelves in the room and Shuuya reluctantly turned his back to the door and the impeding doom.

Takako burst through the door, Yutaka following after her. Shuuya flinched but kept his composure.

"Hello, darlin'," Shuuya said, although his voice was shaky.

"Hi there," Takako growled. "Got anything you'd like to say?"

The other people studying in the library had started to look up, interested in the fight that was bound to happen. Shinji mentally apologized to Shuuya for his untimely demise; Takako looked angry enough to strangle him. (Hey, at least the decoy was working.)

"C'mon," Shuuya said, sounding suprisingly calm despite his inevitable death. "Is that all your boyfriend gets?"

"We broke up, remember?" Takako said, putting her hand on Shuuya's shoulder, turning him around and leaning in to kiss him.

Holy shit.

Shuuya now fully understood just WHY Takako was driving his best friend insane. He'd never kissed a girl as of right now, but he could tell Takako was damn good. Before he knew what he was doing, his arms moved across her back and he pulled her closer to him.

It was a good long while before he came back to reality—and it would have been longer, if Yutaka hadn't been standing right there, clearing his throat loudly (well, it was pretty loud by the fifth time, which was when Shuuya finally heard him).

Takako seemed to notice Shinji's kissing was a little off—as in, he sucked— and pulled back. Her eyes widened in horror at realizing she just spent the last—on second thought, she didn't want to know— making out with SHUUYA NANAHARA, and the REAL Mimura was nowhere to be found.

"I don't know WHAT THE HELL you two are up to," Takako snarled, glaring at Shuuya and Yutaka, while the other people watching started to laugh, "But you can tell the REAL Mimura that the next time he sends one of his lackeys to do his dirty work, he's a DEAD SON OF A BITCH!!" She stormed off, slamming the door behind her, shattering the glass in window of the door.

Shinji stepped out from his hiding place, gaping at Shuuya. Gaping, in pure, undiluted shock. Yutaka was trying not to laugh. The other people sitting in the library WERE laughing.

"Okay, Mim," Shuuya said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I think this is a bit tougher than we thought."

"No shit, Shuuya," Yutaka laughed.

* * *

Takako, you lucky bitch! :) I think it's a tie as to who I love more, Shinji or Shuuya. XD A past reviewer mentioned how I made Shuuya seem jealous of Shinji (by accident!! AAAAAAH); so, I decided to turn the tables a bit. Nothing like a big batch of drama, right?

One question—how bad is the language? The sexual innuendos are only going to get worse (dirty mind) but I really don't think this thing deserves an "M" rating. Even if it DOES deserve an "M" rating, I'm not moving it up, so THERE! ;)

What else is new… I've been considering writing an actual Battle Royale story, when they're on the island; but it's a pretty clichéd genre and I'd like to take my time with it, to ensure it doesn't suck. (XD)

I'm also thinking of maybe writing a Shogo Kawada/Noriko Nakagawa story; Shogo is next to Shinji and Shuuya on my BR Characters of Awesomeness pedestal, and it'd be nice to give him some love (because he unfortunately NEVER shows up in my stories… I've been meaning to fix that).

That's about it; check my profile if you're interested, I usually update that. You know the drill; I'm not above shamelessly begging for reviews, so go for it! Also, if you're bored and/or you'd like to read some more of my stuff, feel free to check out the one-shots I have in my profile. :)

And my apologies for the thoroughly fucked up formatting of this chapter; I'm a formatting perfectionist, so when one little thing is off, it drives me crazy. I tried my best to fix the damn thing, but the document manager of is about as high quality as MS Wordpad. UGGGH...


	6. Clash of the Titans

Am I supposed to do a disclaimer for every chapter? I don't own Battle Royale. If I did, Shinji would have been naked (or shirtless! But preferably naked!) at least ONCE!!

Seriously! How many naked Mitsukos and cheap Takako panty shots did us girls have to endure!? I WANT SEMI-NAKED SHINJI AND SHUUYA AND KAWADA DAMMIT!! (Yeah, they gave us girls naked YOJI and the little otaku squirt who Mitsuko raped, I forgot his name! Can you say EWWWW!!? No female wants to see THAT!)

(this is becoming quite the disclaimer lol)

Woohoo, chapter six! This story was called the best Shinji/Takako story on this website… thanks a lot, seriously!! :) I have a couple other Shinji/Takako fics on my profile, so go read those! (and review… heheheheheheh)

We start this chapter off in Takako's POV. Woohoo!

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Hiroki was talking to Yoshitoki Kuninobu in the hallway. What they were discussing, Takako couldn't care less about.

She grabbed Hiroki by his arm and without a word of explanation, she dragged him straight out of the building into the empty lunch hall, and slammed the door shut behind her, ignoring Hiroki.

Takako checked to make sure they were alone, threw her bag on the ground, and let out a scream so loud that Hiroki screamed back in surprise and nervousness.

"What's the matter!? What's wrong!?" Hiroki gasped, when they both calmed down.

"I just kissed—I kissed—AAAAAAAAAARRGH!!" Takako shouted, pulling on her bleached hair in anguish. "Those stupid idiot PRICKS tricked me!!"

Assuming this had to do with his dear friends, Hiroki rolled his eyes. "What'd they do this time, Taka?"

"That little fucker Shuuya was pretending to be Mimura! I thought he was Mimura and kissed him by mistake!" Takako wailed, making a revolted face. "UGGGGHHH! And I thought _Mimura_ was bad! EWWW!!"

Hiroki made a mental note to tease Shuuya about that later. "Wow. Mim and Shuuya in the same week? Do you know how many girls would kill to be in your place, Taka?"

Takako gave him a funny look. "Oh, thanks a lot! Hey, Sugi, I've got an idea—the next time you try to cheer me up, SHUT YOUR DAMN TRAP!"

Hiroki put a comforting hand on Takako's shoulder. "Takako, are you SURE this war idea is such a good—"

"Don't even try to talk me out of it, you did NOT just make out with Shuuya Nanahara!!" Takako interrupted. "I don't know what they were up to, or where Mimura really was, but THAT was just too far below the belt to let them get away with!!!! EWWWWW!!"

Hiroki sighed. "I understand how you feel Takako, but I feel like I should warn you. Mim and Shu, they're insane. Shuuya's always this crazy, but when Mim sets his mind on something, he'd kill someone to do it. It might be dangerous to—"

Actually, judging by the murderous look on Takako's face, Hiroki decided it might be dangerous to finish that sentence. "Uh, on second thought, do whatever you think you should do, Taka."

"That's what I THOUGHT you said," Takako growled. "Why won't you help me!? Come on!! I know you don't like fighting, but I'm your best friend! Haven't you always wanted to get back at them for doing something to you?"

Takako wasn't planning on exploiting the "you're my best friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!" card unless absolutely necessary, but those boneheads crossed a line today. They were going to pay for THIS.

Hiroki sighed. He knew Takako was desperate for his help, but he REALLY didn't want to antagonize anybody. Although they were annoying, Shuuya and Shinji were also two of his best friends, and he didn't want to lose them OR Takako because of a stupid argument.

"You know what I don't understand?" Hiroki said slowly, pondering over everything he'd been told over the past few days.

"What?" Takako asked suspiciously.

"You're telling everyone that you and Mim broke up, right? Then why did YOU kiss him before, and why did you just TRY TO earlier?" Hiroki asked.

Takako stopped. She didn't seem to have a smartassed answer to that, so she went with her second default instinct. She got angry.

"Oh, WHO THE HELL CARES!?" she shouted, stamping her foot. "He started it anyway!! I'm fighting back the only way I know how!! It doesn't help that there's TWO OF THEM against ONE OF ME!!"

Hiroki sighed. He should have seen that one coming. "Alright, alright," he said quickly, deciding to say whatever he had to to calm volatile Takako down (for the time being).

Takako's face lit up.

"It depends on what you want me to do," Hiroki said quickly, "I'll tell you what they're up to, but I really don't want to make enemies out of them, Taka. I know you hate them both but they're two of my best friends."

"Fair enough," Takako said, relieved. "Those idiots aren't going to see it coming. I don't know when, or how, but I'm going to get them back!"

Hiroki nodded. "Takako, like I said, they're crazy. They'll do anything."

"Whatever." Takako made a face. "You don't think they're going to get suspicious of you, though? I mean, everyone knows you're MY best friend, right?"

"I don't think so," Hiroki said thoughtfully, "I mean, I'm nice to everyone."

"You're right. You're a pushover, they'd be complete idiots to suspect you of anything," Takako laughed. "Thanks, Sugi. I promise, I won't make you do anything you don't want to do unless it's absolutely necessary!"

Too late for that, Hiroki thought dryly, but nodded.

* * *

"Alright, now THIS is what I'm talking about. There's no way that crazy bitch is beating us this time!" Shinji shouted, punching into his hand.

"Takako's going to kill you, you realize that, right?" Yoshitoki asked desperately. "You said she threatened to kill you all last time! I think provoking her is only going to piss her off even more, she looked REALLY mad when she dragged Sugimura off earlier!"

Over the years, Yoshi had become as close to Shinji as he was to Shuuya, but he was always the last of the group to come up with a crazy scheme and the first to say, "Guys, this a bad idea, we REALLY shouldn't be doing this!"

In other words, unlike Shuuya and Shinji, Yoshi (and Yutaka) had some shred of sanity.

"It'll be a small price to pay for the look on her face," Shuuya said, grinning. "It really will."

Shinji stopped laughing and shot him a dirty look. "Shu, that didn't sound very supportive."

"Oh, my bad." Shuuya's grin faded and he glared at Yoshi. "She's not going to kill him! She'll be too shocked to do anything except stand there with her jaw dropped. And even if she isn't, Mim can run faster… no, wait, he can't, can he?" Shuuya's face became thoughtful.

"Didn't Takako set some record for track last year?" Yoshi asked.

"She did, yeah. So, um, she'll be shocked. Yeah." Shuuya looked at Shinji approvingly.

"Don't EVER consider a career as a defense attorney, Shuuya," Shinji said, rolling his eyes.

Shinji had spent the last two periods thinking up of this most recent plan (failing a quiz as a result) and now it was lunch time, which must have given Takako plenty of time to rinse her mouth out with soap.

Shinji opened the door to the cafeteria, looking around, and sure enough, there she was, sitting with Hiroki and Kayoko Kotohiki.

"Ack! Noriko's there! How's my hair look!?" Shuuya asked worriedly.

Shinji elbowed him to shut him up.

Takako's patented 'Mimura-just-entered-the-premises-time-to-kill-him' alarm must have gone off, because she glanced up and saw him, instantly scowling.

Shinji gave her an evil smile and raised his eyebrows, giving her enough warning that something big was coming. Then he pasted an angry, hurt look on his face, resisting the urge to perform a happy dance when he saw Yukie and her group turn to look in his direction.

"I don't believe this!" Shinji shouted, so loudly half the occupants of the cafeteria jumped and spilled their lunches on their laps. "Just when I thought we were past all this crap going around! Just when I started thinking we could be together again!"

A look of fury and indignation flashed across Takako's face as she figured out exactly what was going on, but the expression was gone as quickly as it came, and was replaced by a more impassive expression. Hiroki frowned at them disapprovingly, while everyone else simply looked bewildered.

Shinji didn't miss that. So, Sugimura's a full-blown traitor now… note to self, kill him later. Gotta concentrate now though.

"How COULD you, Takako!?" Shinji went on, shaking his head. "How _could _you!?"

"Um… what's he talking about, Takako?" Hiroki asked, glancing at her suspiciously.

"I'll tell you what I'm talking about!" Shinji shouted, pointing accusingly at Takako. "She… she _kissed my best friend!"_ He turned away from her, hoping he looked anguished and tormented enough. It took every ounce of willpower in his body to not grin at the reactions of everyone in the room. Gasps, whispers, laughs, shocked stares…

Takako stood up. She looked shaky and on the verge of tears; Shinji wondered briefly if he'd really upset her before it dawned on him that she was acting too. "I'm sorry, Shinji," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, which still reached every ear in the silent cafeteria. "He… I couldn't tell who it was!"

"What kind of stupid excuse is THAT?! We've been together for two years! Like you don't know what the back of my head looks like!!" Shinji hollered. "You should know me by now!"

"Quit acting like such a bitch!" Takako shouted. "Turns out I don't know you AT ALL! I didn't think you'd go around talking about our sex life to everyone in the school for a cheap laugh but you did THAT, didn't you!?"

"You're still harping on that!?" Shinji shouted back. "Well at least I didn't make out with YOUR best friend!"

(Hiroki made a face and began choking on his food.)

"Would you get off that!?" Takako yelled. "News flash, bucko, your buddy Shuuya's not as loyal as you think! He kissed me back when he KNEW I thought he was you!"

Shuuya swallowed, blushed, and looked away, not liking this unexpected turn. Dozens of people turned to look at him curiously as he decided the wall behind him was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. Yukie Utsumi looked horrified, her hands clasped over her heart.

It took Shinji at least a few seconds to think of a reply. He was planning on Takako running out of the room crying, which in retrospect was a pretty stupid thought.

"Don't make this Shuuya's fault! You're the one who came onto HIM!" he retorted.

Shuuya, relieved the spotlight was no longer on him, nodded empathetically and shot Takako a "Yeah!" look.

"Then why the HELL was he wearing YOUR jacket? I thought I was your girlfriend, not HIM!" Takako snapped, referring to the tradition of boyfriends lending their girlfriends their letter jackets.

"Don't give me that! He was cold," Shinji retorted, racking his brains for ways to make sure he won this particular battle; he was running low on good comebacks, and it looked like Takako still had quite a few.

"You know what, Mimura? We're broken up at the moment, in case you haven't been paying attention," Takako informed him, folding her arms over her chest. "I can kiss anyone I want. I don't see how it's any of your business that I kissed Shuuya."

"Excuse me?" Shinji said shrilly. Alright, this is getting ridiculous…

"You heard me. So I meant to kiss you but got your best friend instead! I don't have to answer to you!" Her lip curled into a sneer. "Contrary to what YOU might think, you don't own me!"

"Like hell I don't!" Shinji shouted. Yoshi gave him an incredulous look and Shinji, realizing he was getting a bit too into character, turned it down a few notches. "You're my girlfriend!"

"I _was_ your girlfriend!" Takako yelled. "And I won't be until you pull your head out of your ass!!" She paused thoughtfully.

"What?" Shinji asked.

Takako smirked. "Shuuya's a better kisser than you are anyway! I might not even bother getting back together with you as it is!!" She laughed.

"Really?" Shuuya asked, perking up. "I am? HA! IN YOUR FACE!" he shouted, turning towards Shinji, apparently forgetting their audience.

Shinji gave him a very, VERY dirty look before glaring over at Takako, still wearing her "I won!" smirk on her face.

"I'll pull my head out of my ass when you do! And stay the hell away from my friends!" Shinji hollered back. "Let's go!" he yelled at Shuuya and Yoshi, who were more than happy to retreat.

"Well, that could have gone better," Shuuya said, as the door swung shut and loud whispering broke out behind them.

"I'll say," Yoshi muttered.

"I'm not giving up," Shinji gritted his teeth angrily. "This isn't over!"

"Not over for me, you mean. You heard her, I'm a better kisser than you are!" Shuuya laughed.

That seemed to piss Shinji off even more. "Let that live forever! She was probably lying anyway!" he shouted.

* * *

The door hadn't even swung shut behind the retreating idiots before Takako burst out laughing, sitting back down in her seat. The complete silence in the room had stopped; everyone was back to chattering away, probably about the insanity they'd just witnessed.

"Those two are idiots," Takako said, once she'd calmed down some. "They make it too easy!" She glanced over at Hiroki and Kayoko, who were both staring at her. "What?"

Kayoko burst out laughing. "That was awesome!" she laughed. "Are you guys always this much fun!?"

"Hey, Takako, what happened to the whole "EWWW I kissed Shuuya he's worse than Mimura" thing?" Hiroki asked suspiciously.

Takako shrugged. "What? I've been lying this whole time, why would I start being honest now? I'll say whatever I have to if it pisses Mimura off. Besides, it might help out in the long run if those two idiots turn against each other."

Hiroki sighed.

* * *

Since they didn't have any more classes together that day, Shinji, Shuuya and Yoshi didn't have time to contemplate their epic failure until after school, at the orphanage Shuuya and Yoshi lived at.

Yutaka had unfortunately missed the episode in the cafeteria; however, after hearing about what he missed, it took him about an hour to stop laughing.

Needless to say, Shinji's mood was not as happy.

"I don't believe it," Shinji complained. "That should have gone perfect."

"You underestimated her," Shuuya said with a sigh. "She was ad-libbing, too, the clever bitch. Even though she was being _completely_ honest at some points." He chuckled.

Shinji glared at him. "Fuck you, traitor! Why don't you go make out with her again and _then_ talk to me about underestimating her? Or maybe we'll just wait for her to make another announcement about how you're a better kisser than I am!?"

Shuuya held up his hands in surrender. "Cool it. I didn't mean it like that." Shinji nodded and gave him an apologetic look.

"Maybe you should call a truce for a while?" Yutaka suggested.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. The longer we wait, the longer she has to think of a good plan. She ripped ours apart in ten seconds, just imagine if we gave her a week," Shuuya groaned.

"This is getting to be a real pain in the ass," Shinji complained.

"So give it up," Yoshi said with a shrug.

"Give up? GIVE UP!?" Shuuya repeated, looking scandalized. "Yoshi!!"

Shinji stared at Yoshi as though he'd quite like to kill him. "What's with you, man? Give up and admit defeat? To a girl? To Takako Chigusa? Are you INSANE?"

Yoshi shook his head. "No, but you guys are," he replied.

Shinji grinned. "Damn right. So, picking up where we left off... anyone have any ideas?"

"What the hell is Sugimura's deal, anyway?" Shuuya asked angrily. "I mean, come on, why isn't he taking our side here!? What kind of friend is he? Isn't there like, some man law that says if one of your friends needs help you're supposed to help out?"

"I think it's the bros before hoes rule, but then again Takako's more bro than ho as far as Sugimura's concerned," Yoshi said thoughtfully.

"That doesn't matter! He should be helping me because if I lose, I'm screwed! Takako's gonna kill me!" Shinji said. "Whatever his deal is, I don't care. He's too much of a sissy to help us out anyway."

"What if Takako's forcing him to help her?" Yutaka suggested. "Y'know…" He put on a high-pitched voice. "God dammit, Sugimura, you'd better help me get back at that asshole Mimura or I'm gonna do something really bad!" He shrugged.

"Sugimura is a pushover, that might be it," Shuuya said thoughtfully. "And that was creepy, Yutaka, don't do that anymore—"

"Oh, who the hell cares!? There's something much more important we should be discussing," Shinji interrupted. "Me! If you two are hell bent on figuring out why Sugimura's not helping us out, then ask him tomorrow or something! But I wouldn't do it because it'll make us look desperate!"

"I'm burned out, Mim! Every good plan we have Takako obliterates!" Shuuya whined. "We need some inspiration!"

"I'm stumped too," Shinji groaned, hitting his head on the wall. "AAAARRGH!! Why'd I do THAT!?"

"You're a dumb fuck," Shuuya laughed. Shinji shot him a dirty look.

"Boys, lights out," said Ms. Ryoko, the assistant caretaker of the orphanage Shuuya and Yoshi lived at, from the doorway. "Shinji, Yutaka, what are you boys still doing here?"

"Sorry, Ms. Ryoko, we're leaving," Shinji said, jumping off Shuuya's bed and grabbing his bag. "Alright, if you have any ideas in the middle of the night, write 'em down or call me, I don't care if it's 2 in the morning!"

"It IS 2 in the morning!" Ms. Ryoko said.

"Shit. Consider me a memory," Shinji told her. "See you guys tomorrow!"

"Bye everyone," Yutaka added, and the two left, walking out of the orphanage after tripping over a few toys left by the younger kids.

"See you later, Mim!" Yutaka said, giving his best friend a wave before heading off in the direction of his house.

Shinji nodded and continued the rest of the way to his own house, letting out a loud groan, once again contemplating his problems with Takako.

She was hot. She was hot and she was a damned good kisser. She was also really tough and he'd seen her at her track meets before, she kicked ass when it came to track. And damn, was she a fast thinker. He'd expected her to be stumped as hell when he burst in the room yelling at her about kissing Shuuya, but instead she turned the whole stupid thing back in his face.

And her kissing Shuuya, that had absolutely floored him. The moment she'd done it, he'd been overwhelmed with jealousy and a strong, irrational desire to murder his best friend, especially when Shuuya had put his arms around her… not to mention he'd been very tempted to punch Shuuya's face in when Takako shouted to the entire world that he (Shuuya) was a better kisser (than Shinji).

Shinji wanted her. He wanted her bad.

He didn't know if Shuuya, Yoshi or Yutaka had picked up on his feelings—since it wasn't often he actually liked a girl. In fact, this might be a first. Shuuya would probably be the first to figure it out sooner or later, and the others probably also—but this wasn't about some some stupid fight. A part of Shinji was hoping to have Takako when this was all over. A part of him was determined to win, not just the game, but her too.

* * *

I guarantee something awesome is going to happen in the next chapter. I'm just not sure WHAT, though. XD

OK, time for author begging for reviews/asking rhetorical questions time.

Two questions nagging at me—

(1) Is anyone seeming too OOC? I'm really trying to keep everyone as in-character as possible… I think I'm exaggerating a bit with Hiroki being Takako's bitch, (even though in the manga, he pretty much is…) but if you spot any extreme OOC then call me out on it.

(2) I think the story is dragging out a bit. Am I doing too much rambling? Too much dialogue and not enough action?

(3) Okay, I lied, third question—I've mostly written the entire story on Shinji's side of the war, with occasional Takako sections. Would you guys want to see more of Takako's side of the war too?

Alrighty, that's all my questions for now. Answer 'em all or don't answer any of 'em, just give me a review and tell me how I'm doing! :D

And that Kawada/Noriko story I mentioned a long time ago is being a total pain in the ass and refusing to write itself. ARRRGH.

And to help fill the void missing when I forget to update my fics (yeah, right) you can go check out my OTHER (bad) stories! Hehehe, they're not BAD, really... but anyway, go check 'em out!


	7. Disturbance in the Allied Forces

OK, I definitely thought I uploaded Chapter 7 already, and I had Chapter 8 ready for upload this morning… so as a special Christmas time bonus, I'm going to be industrious for once and put BOTH chapters up. So there you go! :D

So, woohoo, it's Chapter 7, promptly followed by Chapter 8!

Those of you who answered the questions I asked in the last chapter, thanks! I'm gonna keep on doing what I've been doing, but I'm tryin to pick up the pace of the story a little, without completely obliterating any funny parts (hopefully everyone's not asking "what funny parts?").

Anyway, onward with the chapter…

* * *

Shuuya had always taken great pride in his ferocious loyalty towards his friends, and all he ever asked in return was that his friends show an equal amount of loyalty.

"No, Takako is NOT threatening me! You two are being inconsiderate assholes—don't give me that look, Shuuya, I'm allowed to say bad words if I want to!—and I want NOTHING to do with your stupidity!" Hiroki said, annoyed. "Now go away!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Shuuya fumed. "What's your problem, man? We help you when you've got problems!"

Hiroki sighed as he put his book down. "Shuuya, my idea of a problem is the academic sense of the word. Something that needs fixing. Your definition of a problem is starting a bunch of bull crap that my best friend is screwing Mim!!"

"Hey, don't blame me! This wasn't my idea!" Shuuya complained. "And she's not screwing him ANYMORE, she dumped him, remember?" He scratched his head. "Actually… I'm not sure that's accurate."

Hiroki frowned. "That's not a problem, Shuuya. That's a MENTAL problem. I suggest you seek help."

"You jerk!! What kind of friend are you!?" Shuuya seethed.

"A loyal one," responded a VERY familiar voice behind Shuuya, instinctively causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. "Something wrong, Sugi? Mimura's bitch here giving you any trouble?" Takako folded her arms, glaring at Shuuya.

"HEY!" Shuuya shouted, rearing on Takako. "Up yours! I am NOT Mim's bitch!"

"Uh huh." Takako smirked. "You know, Shuuya, I have yet to pay you back for sticking your tongue down my throat."

("Ew," Hiroki whined.)

Takako cracked her knuckles. "And y'know, I'm in a good mood today. I'll tell you what. Since I hate you a little less than I hate Mimura, I'll give you a head start."

Shuuya looked outraged. "Like hell! I'm not running from you!" (again, he mentally added.)

Takako's eyes narrowed and her hands moved to her hips. "You've got five seconds."

She hadn't even begun counting before Shuuya ran for it, screaming all the way.

* * *

"I _told _you not to go sucking up to Sugimura," Shinji said, rolling his eyes. "He's useless anyway! And I can't believe that was YOU screaming, I thought someone was getting raped back there!"

"Shut up! Fuck you! You asshole! Easy for you to say, you've never been TERRORIZED by her!" Shuuya snapped, folding his arms.

Shinji looked indignant. "I have too!"

"Oh, yeah, you can't walk down the hallways because she might grab you and kiss you again!? That's not terrorizing!" Shuuya said, glaring at his best friend.

"Whatever. So she didn't chase after you? That's weird," Shinji said thoughtfully, "I would think she wouldn't miss an opportunity to kill you. Maybe she's waiting until there aren't any witnesses?"

"Hell if I know. It figures, five years playing baseball and NOW I find out I should've gone out for track," Shuuya said, making a face. "And to make matters worse, I ran screaming into the GIRLS' bathroom, and fuck my luck, Yukie and Haruka were in there!"

"Ew!" Shinji said, looking repulsed. "I could've lived the rest of my life without hearing THAT!"

"They were washing their hands!" Shuuya looked disgusted. "Get your head out of the gutter!"

"Do you remember who you're talking to?" Shinji asked with a grin.

Shuuya chuckled despite himself. "You're an asshole. But anyway, they saw me and they started pestering me about who Takako's going to pick as her NEW boyfriend, me or you, and—"

"No kidding? What'd you tell them?" Shinji asked curiously.

"I said she was too blinded by her love for you to ever think about another guy," Shuuya said, making a face. "But that's not important, Mim, Yukie started getting all touchy-feely with me and—"

"So Yukie's hot for you, add her to the list. Who cares? She's kind of cute, I'd fuck her if she'd shut up once and a while," Shinji said thoughtfully, before making a face. "Haruka, on the other hand, the friggen ostrich girl—"

"No wonder Takako hates you! You're a jerk! You have to respect girls, Mim!" Shuuya said, folding his arms.

"Yeah, okay, because I GIVE A SHIT," Shinji said, rolling his eyes. "Girls don't fuck people who respect them."

"What the hell sense does THAT make!?" Shuuya asked.

"Hell if I know! It works!" Shinji shrugged. "Back to the important thing here. ME." He thought for a second. A subconscious evil grin appeared on his face and Shuuya let out a groan.

"Oh, no. Not THAT look," Shuuya groaned. Whenever Shinji got that look, something bad usually followed. Something involving HIM. "Y'know, Mim, ever since this started, I've been much less eager to jump in and go along with whatever tom-foolery you're planning—"

"Don't go Sugimura on me," Shinji said impatiently. "Stop being so fatalistic and shut up, would you? I'm on the verge of a major breakthrough here and I can't concentrate."

"Well, let me know when you think of something," Shuuya added. "And, uh, don't sign me up for anything."

* * *

"I don't believe that guy," Takako muttered.

Hiroki chose to misinterpret the question. "Who? Mr. Hayashida? It's history, Takako, he wouldn't lie to us—"

"Not Mr. Hayashida, Sugi," Takako said impatiently, frustrated that her partner-in-crime/sidekick was so, well, DIM. "Mimura sending Shuuya to beg you to switch sides? He must be getting really desperate." She smirked at the thought.

"Shu said Mim didn't know he was talking to me," Hiroki said thoughtfully.

Takako rolled her eyes. "Shuuya could tell me the building is on fire and I'm still going to look. I don't believe a word out of his mouth."

Unfortunately for Takako and Hiroki, the class had stopped listening to Mr. Hayashida's lecture on the American Civil War, and was more interested in eavesdropping on their conversation. Yukie Utsumi was right behind Takako, keeping perfect notes; Shinji and Shuuya, however, were seated as far away as physically possible from Takako, in fear she'd attack.

"Sugimura! Shh!" Mr. Hayashida ordered. "Stop distracting everyone!"

Hiroki sighed and reluctantly paid attention. I need some new friends. I'm getting the feeling that I'm being used, he thought glumly, turning back to his (blank) page of notes. Normally he'd just copy Takako's; being a straight A student, she usually kept perfect notes.

This was true; but unfortunately for Hiroki's GPA, while Takako _was_ a straight A student, (and a star athlete; both of these reasons were probably why the school let her get away with bleaching her hair and blatantly ignoring the uniform regulations) her notebook was blank too.

Hiroki sighed. Takako eyed him stangely and propped her head in her hand, pretending to pay attention.

This whole battle thing was turning out to be a lot more fun than she thought it would be. Sure, she hated all the gossip flying around about her, and the next person who asked about her and Shinji's sex life would be boiled alive in hot oil, but half of her liked all the—

"Chigusa! Pay attention!" said Mr. Hayashida, snapping Takako back to reality once more.

"Sorry, sir," Takako apologized.

* * *

"You know, I was thinking," Yutaka said, tapping his head thoughtfully.

"There's a shocker," Shuuya chuckled. "I'm just messing with ya, don't get all defensive!"

"What's on your mind, midget? Anything related to the—" Shinji was interrupted by a loud groan from Yoshi.

"Guys, come on! I know Mim's obsessed with Takako but is that all WE can talk about now?" Yoshi whined. "There's other girls out there! Can't we talk about one who's not as scary?"

"Hey, what's this? Trying to secede, are you?" Shinji asked, annoyed. "Shut the hell up and let him talk, man!"

Yutaka made a face and continued. "Thank you. Why doesn't one of us go up to Takako and tell her we have feelings for her, and ask if she plans to stay broken up with Mim for good?"

"Don't," Shinji warned. "That could end it, if she's smart enough she'll just say she'll never get back together with me, she'll refuse to go out with you, and game over. Too risky."

"I doubt Takako would do that, she's loving this as much as you are," Shuuya grinned. Ignoring Shinji's glare, he shrugged. "C'mon, man, you should see her face when you two are done making out!"

"I think Takako probably wants to see the end of this as much as we do. Besides," Yoshitoki said with a frown, "If we did that, one of us—the same one with so-called 'feelings' for Takako—could have a big scene with Mim, where he yells at us for daring to ask out Takako because he's still in love with her, and we'll tell him how he doesn't deserve her or something—uhh, why are you three staring at me?"

Shinji, Shuuya and Yutaka were staring at him in amazement.

"That's one hell of a good plan, Yoshi," Shuuya said, awe-struck. "It'd work so hardcore it wouldn't even be funny!"

"Are you guys serious? No! I was kidding!" Yoshi protested quickly.

"No, think about it," Shinji said slowly. "One of you asks Takako out where everyone can hear you. The next day the same person goes chasing after me to yell at me! You know, yell shit like 'you don't care about her at all! You're just being selfish! Let someone else have a go!' That sort of bullshit."

Yoshitoki stared at his friends in disbelief. "You guys are kidding, right? Or you're on something. Either way you're all insane!"

"No! It's a great idea!" Yutaka exclaimed. "On one condition."

"What?" Shinji asked.

"I'm not going to be the one with 'feelings for Takako'," Yutaka said, grinning.

"Me either!" Yoshi added. "I thought of the idea, I have immunity to stupid plans!"

"Looks like you're up, mate," Shinji laughed, thumping Shuuya on the back.

"I hate all of you," Shuuya grumbled. "Haven't I done enough?"

* * *

Gym class was next period, and it was the only class all of Class B had together, since it wasn't an academic class. Hiroki was already in the locker rooms getting changed so Takako seemed to be alone. Shuuya shot Shinji one last "I-don't-want-to-do-this-please-don't-make-me" look before reluctantly heading after her.

Shuuya saw Satomi Noda, one of Yukie's closest friends, nearby and smirked; if Satomi told Yukie what he was about to say, the news he was about to create would be all over school in less than an hour. Yukie's text messaging skills were unbeatable when it came to spreading gossip around the entire school.

He watched as Takako shook off some pestering classmates, most of them boys teasing her about her and Shinji. (Judging by the ladylike hand gestures Takako was displaying, Shuuya assumed she was used to it.) Putting on what he hoped was a half-embarrassed, half-hopeful expression, he cleared his throat.

"Takako?"

Takako turned, rolled her eyes, and glared daggers at him. "Oh, hello, Shuuya," she said, her voice dripping with pleasant sarcasm. "What's wrong, left your Mimura disguise in the closet today? He's not around, care for another go?"

Shuuya's blush had nothing to do with acting, as the girls nearby exchanged glances and whispers. "Um, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely not," Takako said flatly. "Thanks to you, Mimura and I aren't speaking."

Shuuya's jaw would have dropped, if his teeth hadn't been clenched in rage. If she wanted to play the crowd, fine, he could too, but he was more pissed about what she said.

"Excuse me?" Shuuya said angrily. "Thanks to ME? You kissed ME! How's it my fault?"

"You were pretending to be Mimura," Takako said icily.

"Because I was wearing his jacket? You can't tell what the back of your boyfriend's head looks like?" Shuuya retorted. "I know you've probably had the lights off whenever you two spent _quality time_ together over the past year, but—"

"Shut up," Takako interrupted, ignoring the whispers and laughs Shuuya's comment had gotten from the spectators. "If your damned best friend believes it's not your fault, fine, but don't try to feed me that crap. You didn't even try to tell me you weren't Mimura! You were pretending to be him, weren't you!?"

Shuuya was about to holler his real feelings about her statement, mostly along the lines of 'screw you, go to hell, think whatever you want, you BITCH', but he remembered the script he was supposed to be sticking by.

"I couldn't help it," he replied sheepishly, mentally listing all the various tortures he'd like to do to Shinji for forcing him to do this.

"You damned well could have, and you know it," Takako snapped.

"No, I couldn't have!" Shuuya yelled, causing her to raise an eyebrow suspiciously. "You don't know what it's like, hearing stupid Mim talk about you all the time and having to bite my tongue because you're HIS girl!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Takako demanded.

"Let me talk to you alone," Shuuya pleaded.

"No way!" Takako said. "And if you try to kiss me again I'm gonna break your neck!"

Shuuya bit his lip, wanting very much to strangle Takako rather than confess his supposed feelings to her to try and resume this battle. If word that he was in love with Takako didn't get to _every_ ear in the school by the end of the day, he'd give up his guitar and go to law school.

Every girl in the school would believe it, including the very sweet and pretty Noriko Nakagawa, who he _wanted_ to ask out for quite some time now.

You owe me something HUGE for this, Mim. "Fine," he said, after his long pause. "Look, I kissed you back because I wanted to. And ever since this whole BS thing with Mim started I realized I'd probably never have a real shot with you, and when you kissed me I stopped caring about Mim, alright? I like you. You happy now?"

Takako stared at him in disbelief, along with everyone else watching (sans Shogo Kawada, who didn't care). Shuuya turned tail and ran into the locker room, grinning.

It had worked.

* * *

I love adding random Kawada appearances. Kawada is a badass.

Anyway, as always, review, say whatever you want, ect. Don't be cheap! I gave you two chapters, give me two reviews! :D (It's all about increasing my review totals lol)

Next chapter! Onward!


	8. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?

Chapter 8! Go me!

In the last chapter, Shuuya proclaimed his love for Takako…

Also noticed I left out a BIG Hiroki Sugimura habit so far (at least, Manga!Hiroki, which is the personality I'm using) so I fixed that. Just in case one of the four Sugimura fans catches that :D

* * *

"It was probably the lamest thing they've tried yet," Takako told Hiroki on the walk home from school that day. Thanks to the combined efforts of Shinji, Shuuya, and the entire gossip-happy portion of the student body, this was the first time all day Takako was able to talk to Hiroki without fifty people eavesdropping.

"I mean, come on, if that's the best they can do they might as well wave the white flag and save me the trouble of declaring victory here, you know? Maybe I've already burned them out," Takako added thoughtfully, an evil smile on her lips.

Hiroki nodded slowly, looking very uncomfortable. "Uh, Taka? Um… did it ever occur to you, that… uh… Shuuya might have been telling the truth?"

Takako froze, staring at Hiroki. "What?" she stammered, confused.

Hiroki blushed and tapped his nose awkwardly, looking away from her. "Well, uh... it's just, think about it. I mean, why else would he have kissed you back?"

Takako's jaw opened and closed several times before she managed to speak again. "Sugi, it's as likely as a snowball in hell. Besides, Mimura kissed me back before. Why wouldn't Shuuya? He was probably just enjoying the moment."

"It's possible that he wasn't," Hiroki said bluntly. "Shu's not the kind of guy to screw with girls, he's not like... well, he's not like Mim in that regard."

"No way," Takako said firmly. "It's crap, Sugi. Mimura put Shuuya up to pretending to be him, and when I kissed him by accident Shuuya went ahead because it was what the real Mimura would do."

"That's probably true," Hiroki said reluctantly. After all, Shinji's libido matched that of a room full of college frat boys, while Shuuya seemed perfectly happy with actually TALKING to girls before hopping in the sack. "But why the hell would he kiss you back?"

Takako looked outraged. "Oh, the idea of anyone wanting to play tongue hockey with me's unimaginable, huh!?"

"No! That's not what I meant!" Hiroki squeaked fearfully. "I mean, look, Takako, Shinji obviously likes you—"

Takako made a "pfft" noise.

"Oh stop denying it, you know I'm right! But anyway, Shuuya would NEVER, EVER do anything to antagonize one of his friends, he'd take a bullet for them," Hiroki explained. "So he might actually like you enough to be willing to screw over one of his friends."

"Either that or he's a crappy actor! He was trying to trick me, and when the opportunity to make out with a babe like me popped up, he gave Mimura the middle finger and did what he wanted for once," Takako said, making a face. "Hormones always overrule ethics and morals."

"Hence why you and Shinji are rolling around like eels every time I walk into a room," Hiroki muttered.

"HEY!" Takako shouted. "We do NOT roll around like eels! We keep it vertical, thank you!"

"My head hurts," Hiroki grumbled.

"You're telling me," Takako complained.

(A/N: Youtube a video of eels mating... it's pretty funny lol)

* * *

"Aaaaaargh," Shinji groaned, thumping his head on the table lightly. The four boneheads, as Takako had begun calling them, were at Shinji's house trying to get an idea.

"That about sums it up for me, too," Shuuya complained. "I'm all out of ideas, man. I've no idea where to go from here..."

"Well, according to the new 'Shikako 3' text message chain Yukie keeps sending," Yutaka rolled his eyes, taking out his mobile, "_Shinji and Takako are now being separated once more thanks to Shuuya Nanahara's unrequited crush on Takako._"

"Unrequited my ass! She said I was a better kisser than you!" Shuuya said with a grin.

"Let that live forever!" Shinji said sarcastically. "Hate to rain on your parade, Captain Dumbass, but she was LYING!"

"There's more, guys… _Along with being the wedge between Shinji and Takako, Shuuya also claims to be Shinji's best friend. How this will affect Shinji and Shuuya's friendship, and Shinji and Takako's relationship, is yet to be determined. More news as it comes._" Yutaka looked up. "For once I have no comments. Did you catch the Shikako bit?"

"Shikako? We've got a name now!?" Shinji made a face. "Where does she get off? That girl (Yukie) needs to get laid. Or at least get her own life so she can stop meddling in other people's." He glared at Shuuya. "Shuuya, go fuck Yukie so she finds something else to obsess over."

"I CAN'T," Shuuya snapped, "I'm in love with Takako, REMEMBER?"

"ANYWAY," Yutaka said, putting his mobile away. "I dunno... Shu, you could like, write a love song about her or something?"

"Nothing rhymes with 'Takako'," Shuuya rolled his eyes.

(A/N: I'm sure there's a word out there that rhymes with Takako, but it is 2:46AM and I DON'T CARE!)

"Nothing has to. You could work the name Takako into a generic song. How about 'roses are red, violets are blue, Takako you're a psycho but Mim still wants to screw you?" Yutaka chuckled.

"Very funny," Shinji rolled his eyes. "Besides, if Shuuya's trying to make Takako fall for him, he wouldn't sing her a song about _me_ wanting to screw her, would he? In ten seconds she'd break her leg running to the door."

"You know, if this wasn't all grade A bullshit, I'd probably feel pretty bad," Shuuya said thoughtfully. "I stole your girl, Mim! Don't you feel bad for teasing me about Noriko now?"

"Shut up!" Shinji grumbled. "What part of I'M NOT INTERESTED IN TAKAKO ASIDE FROM HAVING SEX WITH HER don't you guys understand!?"

"I'm not so sure YOU understand it," Yutaka laughed. "Seriously, Mim, how many times have you kissed her now?"

"So she's hot! Big deal!" Shinji snapped. "Just because I kissed her a couple times doesn't mean I like her! I've kissed girls I don't like!"

"Which still brings me back to my original theory," Shuuya added. "I'm serious, Mim, you should just tell her that if she wants to hit a home run you're more than willing to oblige. End this whole thing, y'know?"

"Easy for you to say, you're not going to be in her firing range," Shinji said. "If I didn't think she would kill me for suggesting it, I would've done it already. And would you two concentrate already?"

"You know," Shuuya said thoughtfully, "This whole me-liking-Takako thing might not be the best idea. I mean, she's gonna figure out eventually that there's no way in hell I'd do that to my friend, right?"

"Actually you might be our best angle," Yutaka said. "She might think you really do like her… I mean, Takako's not dumb, she knows you're not really hurting Mim's feelings or affecting your friendship. Everything with Mim is crap, right?"

"Right," Shinji said. Shuuya frowned, noticing the faintest flicker of annoyance cross Shinji's face.

"We could say you two are having a fight over Takako," Yoshi suggested, not having noticed anything.

"We wouldn't be able to be seen together," Shinji pointed out. "We'd only be able to meet up outside of school to plan, and we'd have to be careful about who sees us. Big mouth Yukie's got a satellite dish when it comes to dirt, remember?"

"I could be forcing the Takako fight to a standstill, too," Shuuya said. "You know, keeping Takako from getting to Mim... and Mim can't fight me for Takako without letting on that I'm bullshitting it, right?"

"This is making my head spin," Shinji complained. "It's got too many ways it could go wrong… it might work, but let's save it for later, if we can get it to be flawless. In the meantime, why don't you just go after her again, Shuuya? Kiss her again?"

Shuuya shook his head, wincing. "Mim, you've still got that bruise from where she kicked you the first time you kissed her, and I'd really like to avoid getting one to match. She was three inches away from kneecapping you."

"You should go at her anyway," Yutaka said reluctantly. "You both should... I don't know what we'll say if someone asks Mim if he knows Shuuya likes Takako, but the two of you should keep trying."

"So what should you guys think we should do?" Shinji asked. "Play up Shuuya liking Takako, or should I keep pretending to beg her to take me back?"

"Take your pick, considering we don't have a plan either way," Yoshi said, rolling his eyes.

Shuuya shot him a dirty look. "I don't care what we do as long as I don't get injured."

"I've got an idea," Shinji said. "What if, tomorrow in homeroom, I storm in and start yelling at Shuuya? Stuff like, 'how dare you try and steal my girlfriend', and Shuuya says something like, "She's not your girlfriend, you broke up with her", and then I'm like, "But I still love her" and we just keep going like that? We could gauge a reaction from Takako, she wouldn't know what hit her!"

"Are you sure?" Yutaka asked uncertainly. "She might think Shuuya really likes her, but if Mim starts blowing up at Shuuya about his crush on Takako it'll look too rehearsed… unless you can really play up the jealous boyfriend part, which I'm not so sure you can do, Mim, considering you've never done it before."

"I think he could," Shuuya laughed, remembering the scene in the cafeteria a few days ago.

"Shut up, Shuuya. Look, who cares if Shuuya likes Takako or not, that's not the point here, is it? We're trying to embarrass and humiliate Takako so much she gives up and leaves me alone," Shinji interrupted. Well, actually, the point here is to corner her against the wall so I can make out with her, but they don't know that…

"No, the point is to corner her against the wall so you can make out with her," Shuuya said with a grin, and Shinji scowled at him.

"Let's do this, then," Yutaka said reluctantly. "Let's have Shuuya pester her again, tell her he was serious about how he feels about her. Shu, you're gonna have to be ad-libbing a bit to make it look convincing, but if you're up to it…?"

"All right, fine," Shuuya sighed, "I can do that. I'd like to add, however, that you owe me big for this, Mim, this is really embarrassing."

"It's worth it," Shinji said, an evil gleam in his eye. "It's time she learned a tough lesson the hard way: Nobody messes with Shinji Mimura!!"

"Except Takako," Yutaka pointed out.

* * *

The next day at school, Hiroki was surprised at the lack of people annoying Takako today. Normally when she got her books from her locker at least a dozen people crowded her, begging for details about her and Mimura's so-called shattered relationship, but today nothing seemed to be happening.

"Maybe it's starting to die down," Hiroki said hopefully to his best friend.

Takako shook her head, her eyes narrowed. "No," she said, her fists clenching, "It means they're up to something. Calm before the storm, Sugi."

"Maybe they've given up and decided to leave you alone," Hiroki said hopefully. Seeing the disgusted look Takako was giving him, he meekly sunk back into his chair and picked his book up, following Takako's silent order to shut up.

* * *

Takako had gotten used to her new routine of moving to her classes as quickly as she could to avoid being pestered, but today it still wasn't happening. If anything, it was more suspicious than usual. Hiroki didn't have Geometry with her, so she was alone. This made it much easier for Shuuya to catch up to her, and this time, they were completely alone; he took the back hallway to ensure this.

Takako stopped and scowled at him; Shuuya was leaned against the wall with his legs stretched out, and she wouldn't be able to cross through without jumping over his legs, a risk she didn't feel like taking in case he tried to trip her. "Oh, gross. What do _you_ want?" she asked, annoyed.

"I meant what I said the other day," Shuuya told her. "I like you."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Takako asked, giving a derisive snort.

"It's true," Shuuya insisted. "It's just… well, I, uh… is there any chance at all you'd consider…" He stopped, biting his lip, a blush creeping across his cheeks. This was humiliating!!

"One, I'm not buying it," Takako said, "and two, things with Shinji—"

"WHAT things with Shinji? What's he got to do with anything!?" Shuuya demanded.

"I like him," Takako said, shrugging.

"Since when?" Shuuya asked, keeping his expression angry to stay in character.

"Since we started going out," Takako responded, smoothing her long hair. "Are we about done?"

Shuuya stared. "Wha…? Alright, that's bull and you know it. You two never dated! Give it a rest, Takako, you forget who you're talking to!?"

Takako gave him such a look of shock that Shuuya was surprised himself. "You mean, he didn't TELL you we were dating?" she asked, looking slightly hurt.

"Alright, drop it, Takako—"

"Oh," Takako said, her tone becoming icy, "I get it. He'll tell everyone ELSE the truth, but he lies to his own best friend, huh?"

"What the hell?? You're not making sense," Shuuya whined, getting confused.

Takako sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You seriously don't know?"

"Don't know WHAT!?" Shuuya demanded impatiently.

Takako gave him a look of pity, then said, "Look, Shuuya, Shinji and I HAVE been dating since two years ago, alright?" Her face softened. "I'm sorry he didn't tell you, but take that up with him—"

"Drop the act, Takako," Shuuya laughed. "Look, if you and Mim were REALLY dating and sleeping together like people're saying, there's no way his big arrogant mouth would've been able to keep that quiet, he'd tell the entire world that he scored with—" Shuuya's eyes widened in horror, realizing what he was saying.

"Figured it out yet?" Takako asked lightly. "Shuuya, I'm sorry, but I honestly didn't want anyone to know, I knew this would happen."

"Not so fast. There's a few gaping holes in your story," Shuuya insisted. "Mim's a jackass, Takako, if he scored with you he wouldn't be able to keep that quiet for more than ten minutes. And even if he was able to keep his mouth shut around other people, he'd DEFINITELY tell me, so drop it. Besides, if you two were going out, why're you so mad at him?"

"Because he told everyone! You actually think I like all this attention!?" Takako demanded. "Believe whatever you want to, I'm telling the truth. Now move your ass, I'm going to be late." She stepped over Shuuya's legs to leave.

Shuuya was silent for a while, thinking, but he reminded himself that Shinji was a lot more trustworthy than Takako (when it concerned him, at least) especially in these confusing times. "I still don't buy it. Why would he tell the entire school, and lie to ME?"

"Don't look at me," Takako said, "take that up with him." She patted his arm consolingly as she passed and left.

Shuuya heard the bell ring, but wasn't paying attention. Things weren't adding up!!

Shinji bragged and boasted about everything. He could shoot a water bottle into the trash can and his ego would explode. In fact, his ego was so big it needed its own ZIP CODE.

If Shinji had really managed to sleep with Takako, the prettiest girl in the school—in Shinji's words—there was no way in hell he wouldn't be _at least_ rubbing it in the faces of his virgin friends. (He was that good of a guy.)

Maybe Shinji figured Hiroki liked Takako, and didn't want to hurt his feelings? No, he knows Hiroki likes Kayoko, meaning Takako'd be open season for a good…

…and why did those annoying girls drive Shinji so crazy? Normally he'd soak up the attention like a sponge, but the level he stooped to get them to leave him alone was almost desperation…

…and why was Takako's name the first name he said? He could've named one of his numerous still desperate ex-flings to cover his ass. Why pick Takako's name, the girl MOST likely to hunt him down and kill him for daring to take her name in vain?

Shuuya remembered the LAST batch of rumors about Takako, that she was going out with –gag— Kazushi Niida. By the end of the day, Kazushi was upside down dangling from the flagpole by his belt loop. And Shinji had watched it happen, he was on the ground laughing alongside Shuuya while Kazushi cried and begged for Takako's forgiveness.

Anecdotes aside, Mim knew what he was getting into picking Takako's name… was it possible that this whole fight wasn't about a stupid rumor, but a REAL fight between a boyfriend and girlfriend?

Shuuya headed off to class, his mind full of questions.

* * *

(A/N: I wish I could type the next line in size 3567 font)

"_ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?"_

Shinji, Shuuya, Yoshi, and Yutaka were in one of the boys' bathrooms at school. Shuuya had just confronted Shinji about what Takako told him, and Shinji was shouting so loudly his yells were bouncing off the tile walls and amplifying throughout the entire room. Yutaka and Yoshi, however, were trying not to laugh.

"NO I'm not fucking Takako, I've NEVER fucked Takako, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" Shinji shouted. "Honestly, you think I wouldn't have TOLD you something like that!? Come on, if I was screwing her for real I'd be dying to tell someone and it's not like I can't trust you guys!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?"

"You already said that," Yutaka pointed out, still trying to not laugh.

"She had a lot of good arguments," Shuuya said apologetically, looking down at the ground nervously.

"She's the enemy!" Shinji exploded. "She's evil!! She's tricked us countless times and it doesn't help that you doubt ME to believe what SHE says!! What's the MATTER with you!?"  
**  
**"I'm sorry! I just got to thinking—"

"HOW COULD YOU EVEN CONSIDER BELIEVING HER OVER ME!?" Shinji shouted.

"She was REALLY convincing! You would've believed her too!" Shuuya whined.

"NO, I WOULDN'T HAVE!! If my SO-CALLED FRIEND told ME something, I WOULD BELIEVE HIM!! What, were you too busy thinking about making out with her again to remember who's damn side you're supposed to be on!?" Shinji demanded, enraged.

"Mim, calm down, you're getting way too pissed about this—" Yutaka protested.

"I'm sorry!" Shuuya exclaimed. "Look, Mim, I'm sorry! She got me, it won't ever happen again!" He had a sudden idea. "You know, maybe this should prove that I'm incapable of carrying out plans, let's let Yoshi take over from here!"

"Yeah, right," Yoshi groaned. "Admit it, guys, you've been hoodwinked by her more times than you can count, and we've yet to get her good."

"Oh, and you think you can do any better?" Shinji asked angrily.

"No! Don't yell at me, Mim!" Yoshi whined. "I'm just saying she's way too manipulative for us, at least she has been so far. You guys are still holding back, while she's getting under your skin, driving you up the wall, and probably laughing at us all behind our backs with Sugimura—"

"This coming from the guy who keeps telling us to surrender," Shuuya muttered.

"We just have to work harder," Yoshi said, ignoring what Shuuya said. "Before Takako tears us all apart and has us all at her mercy."

"Oh, she's not getting away this time. I'm going to get her for this," Shinji snarled. "She almost turned _my own friggen friend_ against me! Oh, you just wait, I'm going to make her pay. This is WAR!"

"This already is war," Yutaka pointed out.

"Then… this means… this means a REALLY BIG WAR!!" Shinji growled, his voice a little hoarse from his previous yelling.

Yutaka stared at him. "Uh, Mim? When you say things like that, I can understand how she's driving you so crazy. Calm down, alright? She got us, we'll get her."

"Too right we will," Shuuya said, scowling. "This got personal a long time ago. She won't know what hits her."

"And I think I've got another idea," Shinji said, grinning evilly.

* * *

Woohoo, 8 glorious pages of story, and roughly 3,300 words, excluding author's notes! This thing ain't anywhere near close to being over, so don't worry about THAT…

Oookay, so next chapter the shit will hit the fan. :D Once I figure out what kind of shit, though. :)

Please review! And while I'm at it, Merry Christmas! :D If I'm lazy and don't update for the next few days, then Happy New Year too! (but I probably will update lol)

(and you know all those authors who act like they're above begging for reviews... I have no such pride! Review! Review! :D)


	9. En Fuego!

Last update for the rest of the year!! :D I've got my update schedule back on track, so unfortunately this is a one-chapter update. :3 However, this is a good one!

I got a new laptop (that I am IN LOVE with) and although I don't have Microsoft Word anymore, I found a FREE alternative (haha) that works just as good. So until bags of money come falling from the sky, Microsoft Works works for me! :D

I got a couple reviews saying they believed Takako in the last chapter! Was she being honest or was she lying through her teeth?

* * *

Gym class featured a game of dodgeball due to the gym coach's absence. Almost instantaneously, Class Representative Kyoichi Motobuchi started barking orders, trying to get everyone organized into teams. That turned out to be a much harder task then he thought it would be, since half of the class was grossly unathletic and the athletic kids didn't want to be on their team.

Takako found herself on the same team as Shinji, which pissed her off. The only reason she even wanted to PLAY was to get a cheap excuse to pummel the hell out of Mimura. She was also opposite Shuuya; normally she'd pummel his sorry ass instead, but thanks to her bonehead "pretend to feel sorry for him" plan, she wasn't able to do that. Dammit.

Anyway the game went on as Class B dodgeball games usually did; right as Kyoichi called the beginning of the game (who died and made him boss? Takako wondered, I didn't vote for him!) the fastest runners pounced on the balls like starving hyenas would on a corpse.

"I don't see what's so much fun about beating the crap out of people with dodgeballs!" Hiroki complained, relocating to the JAIL side of the court, which Takako was standing in front of.

"You got tagged out ALREADY?" Takako grinned. "Hey, if I pretend not to see you escape to the other side, how about you hit Mimura for me!"Hiroki sighed. "I'm a martial artist, not a baseball player!"

Takako smirked. "I'm sure Kayoko would think it was cool."Hiroki blushed about sixteen shades of red.

"You know, I've got an idea!" Takako said thoughtfully, and she grabbed a ball off the floor, charged to the "front lines", and effortlessly tagged poor unsuspecting Kayoko.

"OH NO!" Kayoko wailed, "DAMMIT!" She sulked over to the JAIL side along with Hiroki.

"Oh, hi, Sugi!" Kayoko said cheerfully, "I guess being screwed in jail isn't so bad if I get to be screwed with you, right?"

Hiroki just blushed.

Takako rolled her eyes, and yelped, catching a dodgeball right before it hit her off-guard; she looked around for the attacker, to see a very angry Yukie Utsumi.

"Oh, dammit! I thought I could put a stop to you!" Yukie pouted.

Takako scowled as she surveyed the enemy court; didn't look like anyone would be willing to tag Mimura out for her. Hiroki and Kayoko had apparently made themselves at home in jail; neither one of them would do it.

"Hey, Kawada!" Takako shouted, making her way across the court ("HEY!" shouted Kyoichi, "Back to your side, Chigusa!") and prodding the six-foot wall of muscle in the arm.

Shogo Kawada eyed her strangely. "Can I help you?" he asked gruffly.

"Do me a favor? Can you peg that little prick on my team?" Takako asked pleadingly, grateful that she was a babe. "Mimura?"

"Which one is he? Spiky hair?" Kawada asked.

Takako nodded.

Kawada smirked. "It'll be my pleasure." He took the ball from her hands, aimed, and threw.

"OW!" Shinji shouted, as the dodgeball bounced off his head.

"You know, I'm on your team," Kawada told Takako, "I'm in jail. Now, since you owe me, I'd appreciate it if you get Noriko _in _jail.""Noriko?" Takako asked. "She's on our team! I can't tag her out!"

"Get her tagged then! She's cute," Kawada said with a grin.

Takako shrugged. "Well I suppose it's no place of mine to be judging…" She went back to her territory and tapped Noriko on the shoulder.

Noriko shrieked and turned around; seeing Takako, she let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry! Dodgeball scares me," she said, smiling in relief.

"Kawada wants me to get you tagged out so you'll go hang out with him," Takako said, kicking herself mentally for wording that wrong.

Noriko's brown eyes lit up. "WHAT!? He wants to talk to me!?" she asked, blushing. "ME!?""That's what he said!" Takako said, "You can just pretend to get—"Noriko stuck her hand out to hit a dodgeball flying through the air and grinned. "Looks like I'm out!" She then sprinted across the court to get to jail.

"NOOOOOO!" Shuuya wailed on the other side of the court, realizing he just tagged Noriko out and sent her to Kawada. "SHIT SHIT SHIT SHITTY SHIT!!"

(A/N: Who knows what movie that's from? :D Don't cheat and Google it!)

"Hey, Shuuya! No swearing allowed!" Kyochi shouted.

"FUCK YOU! I want a do-over!!" Shuuya shouted back.

Shinji meanwhile usually liked playing dodgeball, but getting clocked with a ball in the HEAD hurt like a bitch. He also wasn't paying much attention. Takako looked like she was having fun. Well, let her laugh it up while she can, Shinji thought with a grin, she's not gonna know what hits her after this…

"What's up, Mim?" Yutaka asked, "I've never seen you not play dodgeball before!""My head's hurting," Shinji complained. "You'll see what's up later. I just want this stupid game to be over already!"

* * *

While everyone else was in the locker rooms, changing, Takako took advantage of their absence to tell Hiroki and Kayoko the entire story of what happened earlier and give them an explanation of why she didn't take advantage of the opportunity to murder Shuuya in dodgeball. Kayoko found the entire story hysterical and was only too happy to help, which made up for Hiroki's hesitant cooperation a little.

"He looked shell-shocked," Takako bragged, while Kayoko shrieked with laughter. "I've no idea what phase two is going to be, but whatever it is I think we should act soon before Shuuya and Mimura have a chance to regroup and figure out what's going on."

"This is too funny!" Kayoko laughed. "Sugi, Takako, you guys are awesome!"

"You're too kind," Takako said, taking a small bow. "Alright, I'm gonna get changed, I worked off enough anger for a week…" She laughed and headed to the locker rooms, which were empty. All the other girls must either be done changing or in the bathroom.

Shrugging, Takako pulled her sweaty gym shirt over her head, when she heard the door swing open and closed behind her. Figuring it was another girl in her class, she ignored it and pulled her school skirt over her hips. Whoever was over there wasn't making any noise, which was suspicious. Takako glanced over her shoulder as she pulled her school blouse out of her gym bag. As fate would have it, she instead saw Shinji, with a strangely calm look on his face (if she didn't notice his clenched fists, she might've bought it). Takako's hands shot to her school blouse, pulling it on and buttoning it up to hide her nearly exposed body hastily.

"Uh," was about all she could say, very nervous all of a sudden.

"Well, would you look at that. We're alone," Shinji said, smirking. "Been dating for two years, huh?" he asked dangerously, his smile clearly screaming he was up to something.

Takako couldn't keep the proud smirk off her face. "I couldn't help it, Mimura, it was just too easy," she said smugly.

Shinji advanced on her; Takako backed up instinctively, finding herself against the gym lockers. Shinji stopped very, very close to her, glaring. Takako tried to keep her expression mocking, which wasn't easy; she was dreading he would kiss her again, but part of her was actually hoping he would. No, a lot of her was hoping he would. Actually, about nine tenths was hoping he would. No, actually— Actually, he looked pretty pissed off.

"You think it's funny, turning my friends against me?" Shinji snarled, placing his palms against the lockers on either side of her head, boxing her in.

Takako smirked. "I sure as shit do."

"I don't," Shinji snapped. "Shuuya had quite a few questions for me. He might be an optimistic IDIOT but your little plan didn't work!"

Takako folded her arms. "Like you weren't doing the same thing to me with Sugi!?"

"Sugi's my friend too!" Shinji retorted, "As for you, you've never said two words to Shuuya before this whole thing started!"

"Whatever!" Takako snapped, "Now get away from me!"

Shinji ignored her. "I bet you think you're clever. You manipulated Shuuya, nearly turned him against me, and now I've got you cornered and you're still smirking at me. You want a war, Takako? I'll give you a war.""Ooh, I'm so scared, I think I might—" Takako started to say, but was cut off as Shinji leaned in and kissed her once again.

Her eyes closed and she responded immediately; she missed kissing him, she couldn't deny it. He was beyond good at it; her mind drifted away, all thoughts of anger and rage and castration disappearing. Her arms went around his neck willingly, and he grabbed her waist, pulling her tightly against him.

Her heart began pounding madly at the feel of his body; there was a few layers of clothes separating them, and Takako found herself wishing there was nothing between them at all!! WTF!? She was Takako! She didn't think like that!! She wasn't a—oh, who cares. She tightened her hold around Shinji's neck.

Shinji backed up a little, then turned her to the side and pushed her forward; she stepped backwards, not caring where she was headed. Her knees hit something and buckled; she landed on her back on the wooden bench in the locker room, Shinji on top of her. They continued to make out, and Takako considered finding the buttons on his school oxford and undoing them, just to touch those strong muscles she could feel pressed up against her—

—until the damn door swung open and hit the wall behind it with a loud bang.

Both Shinji and Takako looked up so fast they knocked their heads together. Of all people, Yukie and Haruka were standing in the doorway, their jaws dropped to the floor.

Yukie recovered first. "Oh… my… GOD!!" she shrieked, grabbing Haruka's arm and turning to leave. "Come on!"

"Holy shit! Were they really—" The door shut before Takako could hear the rest of Haruka's sentence.

Shinji watched them go, took one look at the mortified expression on Takako's face, and started to laugh. "Am I good, or am I good?" he grinned.

Takako was so horrified that it took her a few seconds to realize what he meant. "You PLANNED that!?" she hissed.

"Better believe it, darlin'," he said, beaming. "Told Shuuya to stall for a minute or two then let slip that I was in here with you." He leaned down and kissed her neck. "Why don't we keep at it for a little longer, huh? I'm sure someone else'll stop by in a few."

"Not bad," Takako said grudgingly. "Of course, it's not nearly as good as convincing your bonehead friend that we were screwing behind his back." Her fingers were still subconsciously running through his short hair."There's plenty more where this came from," Shinji told her.

Takako's eyes narrowed, and she smirked. "Kiss me," she said.

"What?" Shinji pulled back, eying her suspiciously.

"Kiss me," she repeated. "C'mon, while we're alone. I…" She trailed off, looking up at him almost pleadingly. She shifted beneath him, making Shinji tense visibly. Shinji looked down at her lips and nodded slightly, leaning down to kiss her again.

About two seconds later, he jerked back up with a yelp of pain after Takako hit him in the crotch. "What the fuck was THAT!? OW!" he yelped.

Takako laughed. She gave him a hard shove and he rolled off her and the bench she was lying on, landing with a thump on the dirty floor, his face scrunched up with pain.

"Owwww!!" Shinji groaned, glaring at her angrily. He had tears in his eyes.

Takako grinned at him. She leaned over his prone form, planted a kiss on his cheek, and said, "There's plenty more coming from my end too, Mimura." With that, she smiled sweetly at him, grabbed her bag and flounced out of the locker room.

"Alright, that's it," Shinji choked out. "She's dead."

* * *

Hiroki and Kayoko were waiting for Takako in the gym corridor with rather resigned expressions on their faces. She beamed when she saw them; they looked back in confusion.

"Umm, you were caught having sex with Mim, did you know?" Hiroki asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I know." Seeing the shocked looks on their faces, Takako grinned. "Oh, come off it, we weren't REALLY having sex—"

"What WERE you doing?" Hiroki interrupted, eying her sternly.

"Making out," Takako said, her cheeks pink. "Just kissing… on the, uh, bench. Lying down. He was on top of—""Okay, okay, stop, please," Hiroki begged. "This is Mimura we're talking about, no details please.""There ARE no details," Takako grumbled.

"Well, you were smiling like you just had the best day ever when you came out of there, and you've got a giant hickey on your neck," Kayoko pointed out.

Takako yelped in horror and popped the collar of her school blouse, trying to conceal it. "Oh, FUCK!" she grumbled in resignation when it didn't work.

"Yeah, literally," Kayoko laughed.

"Shut up!" Takako groaned. "Nothing happened!"

Shuuya came out of the boys' locker room with Yoshi in tow, right on schedule; he glanced over at Takako, saw her obvious disheveled state, and laughed loudly. "Well it's good to see I haven't kept you and Mim apart for long, Takako," he called, smirking.

Other people in the corridor perked up interestedly. Yukie's expression was similar to a football fanatic sitting in the front row at the Super Bowl.

"Well, we're going to be apart for a while," Takako replied, shaking her head. "Mimura's gone and gotten himself injured in the most inconvenient way. I don't think he'll be up for anything."Shuuya and Yoshi's eyes widened. Shuuya recovered first and glared at her. "Wore him out, huh? Is that the only reason you like him?"

"Oh shut up!!" Takako snapped, losing her temper. "I've had enough of this."

"That's not what you said last niiiiiight," Shuuya said smugly.

Yukie's expression of joy turned to one of horror, and then to one of RAGE, aimed at Takako. Haruka had to physically restrain her.

"Oh, ew," Hiroki whined. "This is getting gross! Takako, please tell me you didn't—"

"Shut up, Sugi! No, what I said last night was—" Takako began angrily, but stopped, grinning. "Oh, hey there, Shinji! You sure you should be walking so soon?"Shinji had just limped out of the girls' locker room. He glared at her, marched over to where Shuuya and Yoshi were, and dragged back inside the boys' locker room. Takako could have sworn she heard him say the word "regroup".

* * *

Shuuya watched Takako get angrier and angrier, wondering and fearing what she did to Shinji. She looked beyond proud of herself; Shuuya was very much hoping Shinji was still alive and in possession of all his limbs. However in Shinji's favor, Takako's hair was messed up, and the hickey on her neck was pretty big—well, with her stupid collar in the way, it was harder to tell. Stupid Takako.

"Oh, hey there, Shinji! You sure you should be walking so soon?" Takako asked, her voice dripping with fake concern and her eyes dancing with evil as Shinji limped out of the locker room.

Aside from glaring at her, Shinji didn't reply; ignoring everyone's mutterings, he headed over towards Shuuya and Yoshi, seized their arms, and promptly dragged them inside the boys' locker room. "Time to regroup," he muttered, his eyes narrowed with what Shuuya presumed was anger, but was really pain.

The moment they entered the boys' locker room, Shinji made it to a bench and collapsed. "Oh, shit, that HURT!" he groaned. "I fucking HATE her!!"

"What happened?" Yoshi asked, pulling his school jacket on and hurrying over towards his friends.

"She kicked you in the crotch?" Shuuya guessed.

Shinji nodded. "Kneed, actually, the evil wench," he growled. "I swear, I'm gonna kill her—"

"We lose again," Shuuya said sadly, then scowled. "You and your damn balls! Suck it up!"

Shinji sat up with a groan. "Actually, everything went pretty well, considering the sacrifice that had to be made." He winced again. "It all worked out like I planned; Yukie and her friend there came in when I was on top of her—we had our clothes on, assholes—" he added, glaring at his laughing friends—"and Takako was horrified… anyone see her neck? Thought it'd be a nice touch."

"Oh, everyone did," Shuuya chuckled, explaining his exchange of banter with Takako.

"Good," Shinji said, when he finished, "that's great, everything went perfect."

"Except for what went wrong," Yoshi laughed. "How'd you end up injured?"

"She tricked me," Shinji admitted, "caught me off guard and the next thing I know I'm on my back in the fetal position. Still, I think I got her better…"

"If you don't mind having an unhealthy sperm count, I guess," Shuuya said pleasantly, and Shinji scowled at him.

"Well," Yutaka said, relieved, "this was a victory, guys. We finally got her, even if she, uh, got you back, Mim…"

"And she didn't even do it THAT well," Shuuya scoffed. "Shinji's just a little—ow!" he yelped, when Shinji punched him.

* * *

OK, now that I go back and read this, this chapter didn't sound as spectacular as I expected it too. CRAP! I blame you, Microsoft Word!

No, seriously, I didn't want to use the dodgeball scene; I debated as to whether or not to just trash it and either deliver a shorter chapter or add more to the ending, so I decided to just use what I already typed.

Fun fact--most of this story is already pre-typed. Before I upload a chapter, I proofread it about thirty times, add in/delete parts, and then once it's good to go I upload it. This chapter was not one of my best, so don't be afraid to be brutal! :)

Happy New Year! Hope everyone has a great 2009, and definitely expect a lot of updates and new stories to come from me this year! :D

(and I hate to product whore lol but I have a couple Shinji/Takako fics out there that aren't getting any love at all! So read those and drop me a review, I'd really appriciate it! :) Thanks in advance! They'll be worth your time, I promise! :D)


	10. Diglett dig, diglett dig

OK, chapter 10... I'm still getting used to this new laptop (which I loveeee :D)

* * *

Shinji and Takako were once again the number one discussion throughout the school; everyone even seemed to know that Takako had hit Shinji in the crotch at one point, making Shinji more determined to get her once and for all.

Shuuya's resolve had even increased; thanks to his exchange with Takako in the gym corridor yesterday, particularly his "last night" remark, everyone was convinced he'd slept with Takako too, especially because he'd kissed Takako and claimed to be in love with her.

Hell, even Yutaka and Yoshi were getting into the fight more, both from amusement and loyalty to their friends (and there was nothing to watch on TV).

It was now mid-November and the war between Shinji and Takako had pretty much come to a standstill; neither side had any ideas of how to proceed, and the whole school was more concerned with end-of-term exams to bother with gossip at the moment.

Takako's perfect grades hadn't slipped, but Shinji's usual string of B's had dropped to straight D's and F's due to his failing tests and quizzes to plan future battles against Takako.

His teachers had obviously heard the gossip flying around from other students talking about it, and most of them liked Takako better than they liked him, so they were more prone to knocking extra points off his grades for no good reason.

("Mimura, what's the capital of Japan?""Tokyo?" Shinji asked."WRONG! Chigusa, what's the capital of Japan?""Uhh… Tokyo?" Takako said, confused.

"Right!")

On the other hand, some teachers were giving him advice—one teacher had gone as far as to confront him about his supposed "relationship" with Takako. ("She's a gem, boy, don't let her slip through your fingers!")

It pissed Shinji off beyond belief that not only was she holding her own against him, but she was maintaining her grades as usual and doing better than ever when it came to cross country, her off-season sport. She stuck to track mostly but it being their final year at Shirorwa Junior High she took up cross country as well.

As to how Shinji knew that, he had no idea.

"Hey, you guys wanna see a movie after school?" Shuuya asked one day, bored. "I'm so sick of exam review… I think my brain's gonna melt—"

"Where does she get off?" Shinji asked irritably, watching Takako. "She's supposed to be as angry and annoyed as I am, yet she's never looked happier!"

"Uh, so, Mim, about that movie—"

"I don't want to see a movie! I want to stomp Takako into the ground so she stops driving me crazy!" Shinji said angrily, squeezing his nearly-full soda can so tightly it crunched in his hand and exploded.

"Did you guys hear about Yukie's Christmas party?" Yutaka asked, trying to change the subject. "Might be a good atmosphere to try and get a girlfriend, y'know—"

"How can you think about girls at a time like this!? The only thing I can think about is beating Takako," Shinji complained, wiping his damp hand on his pant leg.

Shuuya rolled his eyes at his friend's remark, wanting to comment that that made absolutely no sense, but deciding against it. "Yeah, no girls for me, man. Unfortunately, and I say this with all implied sarcasm, but Takako's the only girl for me." He groaned. "Can't believe I got dragged into this… god, Mim, you fucking owe me—"

"I don't even think I've ever seen her SMILE before!" Shinji said angrily. "And she's actually LAUGHING over there!"

"Sucks for you, man. As for me, however, I'm completely single with no obligations to any crazy psycho girls at the moment, so looks like it'll be a very Merry Christmas for me!!" Yutaka beamed.

Shinji muttered something about going to the bathroom and stomped off in the wrong direction.

"Alright, he's going crazy, we've gotta do something before he does something really stupid," Shuuya said urgently. "Get his mind on something else…"

"What're we gonna do? Drag him to a strip club?" Yutaka laughed. "Wait, that's not a bad idea… too bad we're underage…"

"Get your head out of the gutter, man! No! All he's thinking about is this ridiculous "get-back-at-Takako" plan, and he's gonna do something stupid that'll ruin our fun!" Shuuya complained. "We gotta do something!"

"_Hire_ a stripper?" Yutaka suggested.

"YUTAKA!!"

* * *

In all the years he'd known Takako, (eight) Hiroki could honestly say he had never once heard her hum even a note. But here she was, humming a catchy Ayumi Hamasaki (A/N: Japanese pop singer and style icon—you might've heard her stuff on a DDR game or something) song and tapping her foot.

Hiroki cautiously placed a hand on Takako's forehead, surprised to feel no difference in temperature.

Takako eyed him strangely. "What're you doing?" she asked.

"Takako, I'm worried," Hiroki said. "Uh, you're… you're, well… happy!"

"Thanks for noticing," Takako said dryly. "Contrary to popular belief, I am not an emotionless robot. Now get off me!"

"No, that's not what I meant! Your happiness comes from… well… oh, for the love of God, Takako! You're humming! A pop tune! You don't even LIKE pop music!" Hiroki said incredulously.

Takako shrugged, smiling. "Why shouldn't I be happy? I look good, I feel good, and I'm wearing a smile that says "Takako Chigusa, you're a WINNER!"

"Where'd you get that line, off a cereal box?" Hiroki asked.

Takako kept on smiling. "Life is good, Sugi, enjoy it!"

Hiroki stared at her blankly and shook his head. Takako was one of the most confusing people he'd ever met in his life; when she hummed and smiled like that, it either meant someone who pissed her off was bleeding (and he just saw Mimura, he looked fine) or she actually genuinely was happy about something. But he couldn't imagine why!

* * *

"Cross Country districts tomorrow," Yutaka said, bored.

"What?" Shinji asked, looking over at him.

"Poster over there," Yutaka said, pointing.

"The boy can read!" Shinji said sarcastically.

"Nice going, Yutaka. This is somehow going to relate to Takako, isn't it?" Shuuya asked, sounding uninterested.

"Well, she IS on the team… y'know, I bet we could think of something to do to screw up her race… really piss her off," Shinji said, thinking.

"Like what? Pull a friggen Team Rocket? Go to the course a few hours early and dig a giant pit so she falls in?" Yutaka laughed.

If Shinji's eyes got any wider they probably would've fallen out of his face. "That's GENIUS!" he gasped. "Where's the meet at?"

"NO," Yutaka interrupted. "I was kidding, man! It never worked for Team Rocket and it won't work for us, she could break her leg—"

"So what?" Shinji asked rudely, then thought better of it. "I'll put a pillow in it."

"One pillow?" Shuuya scoffed. "One pillow isn't going to do anything! Better idea would be bury a damn trampoline in the ground, she'll go flying!! How fucking cool would THAT be!?"

The idea of Takako unwittingly running onto a trampoline at full speed and vaulting ten feet into the air was a funny one, Shinji had to admit.

"We don't have a trampoline," Shinji remembered.

"We could buy one," Shuuya suggested.

"Oh, like hell I'm spending money on this!" Shinji said. "We could steal one from someone's yard or something… the idea of Takako getting stuck in a tree is too good to resist."

"What if she gets hurt?" Yoshi asked.

(Yoshi was ignored.)

"Wait, wait, I saw this on a 'funniest home videos' show!" Yutaka said. "If you dig a big enough hole and line the hole with a waterproof tarp, you can fill the hole with water, then put like clear wrap over the pit and cover it with leaves! She'll break through the clear wrap and fall right in the water but she won't get hurt or anything!" He stopped. "Well unless she can't like swim, then she'll drown… can Takako swim?"

"That's a chance we'll have to take. But it'll only work if she's the first one on the course," Shinji said thoughtfully. "She's damn fast, but she might not be the first one out… we don't want to attack any innocent bystanders, I'd like to avoid any possible lawsuits here…"

"Check online! Look up the times of every girl who runs cross country in the district, you can see if Takako's the fastest or not. And if she's not you can tip off the girls who are faster, like post a sign," Yutaka suggested.

"I'll check when I get home. But after school, we're going' to the hardware store, boys," Shinji said, smirking evilly. "Guess what we're buying?"

"Mulch for my dad's driveway?" Yutaka asked fearfully.

* * *

Sorry for the half-assed update, I've been working on some other fics of a different genre so I've been distracted. I didn't proof this at all so I apologize for any spelling/narraration errors.

Also, sorry for the constant swearing, but if you read BR, these kids have sewer mouths. :P


	11. The Pits

Sorry for the update delay! I was reading the BR novel earlier today and felt inspired to get back onto the updating track. I've been distracted by other stories I'm working on (if you have me on Author Alert, your inbox must have been filled XD). Anyway, enjoy the update!

* * *

"Hmm… you think we should make it a little deeper?" Shinji asked, looking down into the hole.

"NO!! IT'S DEEP ENOUGH!!" Shuuya shouted, about to hit Shinji with the shovel. "We've been digging since 10 PM last night!! It's 4 AM!! LUCKY FOR YOU IT'S FUCKING SATURDAY!!"

"Alright, fine," Shinji said reluctantly. "How deep is it?"

"It's like five feet deep and four feet wide," Yutaka called. "We're building a friggen swimming pool here and we're not even getting paid!"

"My arms hurt," Yoshi whined.

"Too bad friggen Sugimura wouldn't help," Shuuya grumbled. "We could really have used some of that kung-fu muscle… anyway, did you look up the times? Is Takako the fastest girl?"

"She's not overall, but the only four girls who beat her time aren't running today, their teams didn't make it to districts," Shinji said. "So today she is, which is good for us."

"I probably should've asked this BEFORE we dug the giant hole, but there's still time to think here—Mim, are you SURE you want to do this? What if she gets hurt?" Shuuya asked. "I know she's pissing you off but what if she drowns or something?"

"I'll hide in that bush over there. She won't see me but I'll be able to save her ass if something happens," Shinji said, rolling his eyes. "Hey, then she'll OWE me for saving her…"

"Because she's stupid enough to think a giant flooded hole buried in the ground appeared by magic," Yutaka scoffed.

"Alright, time to lay the tarp," Shinji yawned, choosing to ignore Yutaka's last statement. "Stupid race isn't until 5 PM, but officials and what-not'll come by to lay the course… don't give me that look, I already researched this race, it's the second leg of the first mile! They'll definitely come through here!"

"Tarp ahoy," Shuuya groaned.

It took roughly seven more hours, but the four managed to fill the entire hole with water, cover it with an easily breakable barrier, and cover the barrier with leaves and sticks to match the surrounding area. Shinji tapped the ground lightly with his foot.

"It'll hold," he decided. "Alright, it's 11 AM and I'm starving. Go home, get cleaned up and let's be back here by 4."

"4!?" Shuuya whined.

"Yes, 4. I wanna make SURE Takako sees me before her big race," Shinji grinned.

* * *

"Alright, Takako, same race you've done before. Now this is districts, so I really want to see you give this your 110 percent," her coach, Mr. Tada, was telling her.

Takako nodded, her long ponytail bouncing as she did. "Got it, Coach." Mr. Tada went to bug the other girls and Takako stretched her muscles, wanting to be as limber as she could be.

She'd wanted to win a Districts trophy as long as she could remember… and now that dream was finally gonna happen. The best part about winning was the fact that it made everyone else a LOSER, and that was exactly what she was gonna do.

"10 minutes before girls varsity race, 10 minutes… all athletes to the starting line…"

"Takako!" Hiroki called, hurrying over to her. Takako waved at her best friend and took a quick sip of water from her bottle.

"Hey, Sugi. You came after all, huh?" she grinned. "Take my stuff, will you?" She quickly removed all her accessories and handed them to him.

"Good luck," Hiroki told her, pocketing her stuff and giving her a hug. "I'll be waiting at the finish line with whatever you want to drink, alright? Water?"

"Water's good," Takako told him. "Alright, beat it, I'll see you when I see you."

Hiroki ran off and Takako joined the rest of her team at the starting line. Her teammates were friendly enough, but she ran too much faster than them to really become close friends. "Are you ready, Takako?" one teammate asked. "We're counting on you…"

Takako nodded, already in her pre-race state, trying to collect her thoughts. She glanced out towards the crowd of people watching along the side of the course, the course marked by red flags to indicate to the runners where to go.

The officials did their usual jewelry check, made sure all schools were in their right position, and held up the flag and the gun. "ON YOUR MARKS…"

"GET SET…"

BANG! The gun went off, and…

Takako shot off like a torpedo, seeing Hiroki waving and clapping out of the corner of her eye. She sped past him, then ran by Yoshitoki, Yutaka, Shuuya, and Shinji—SHINJI!? What the hell was he doing here!?

Takako's mind went into panic mode, obviously quite sure that he was here for no good reasons, but she had a race to concentrate on. Everything else, including Shinji, could wait.

* * *

"She saw me," Shinji said, turning. "Alright, guys, I'm off. Cover for me."

He cut through the brushes to get to the other side of the path the girls were running, hoping to get to his trap before Takako did. He made it with time to spare, and he crouched behind the bush, enjoying the good vantage point.

However, the voice of reason inside his head, which sounded suspiciously like Shuuya's, kept telling him not to do this. So far he and Takako had kept their battle to a harmless degree; gossip, sure, and although Shinji's leg was still bruised and his crotch hurt whenever he thought about when she hit him there, neither of them had suffered any REAL harm…

This was Takako's last year in junior high, what if her high school didn't sponsor a cross country team? He knew he'd be pissed as hell if someone ruined his last basketball game because of a stupid joke… maybe his friends were right and he was going too far…

Takako came into view in all her glory, her red and white uniform hugging her perfect body, and her long hair, which was tied back, sweeping behind her in a long ponytail. Shinji mentally smacked himself, trying to stay focused, and stopped enjoying the view long enough to make his decision. Takako came running down the path, and when she was about eight feet from his trap, Shinji jumped out.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!" Takako shrieked, apparently not expecting an ambush. "YOU!!" she screamed, her expression changing from surprise to rage as she recognized WHO was ambushing her.

"Stop running!" Shinji hollered, hesitant to take another step because he truthfully forgot where they put the trap. "Takako, seriously, stop!"

"Hello!? In the middle of a race here!" Takako yelled, obviously enraged, but she came to a reluctant stop. "What the hell are you DOING HERE!?"

"Because," Shinji said, mentally patting himself on the back for being such a noble hero, "because, I was going to sabotage your race."

Needless to say, Takako wasn't moved by his heroism.

"YOU WHAT!?" she shouted, seizing the front of his shirt and shaking him furiously. "You son of a bitch!! You're so mad about a dumb bullshit argument that you're trying to wreck my race!? I would never do that to you!!"

"Calm down! I'm not going to do it!" Shinji begged, trying to explain, but Takako had stopped listening after "sabotage your race", which in retrospect probably weren't the wisest choices of words to use.

"Don't you tell me to calm down, you jerk! You really are something else, you know that?!" Takako yelled, shoving him roughly.

Shinji had never been more grateful to land on solid ground. After seeing how angry Takako was at his confession to attempting to sabotage her race, he doubted it would be wise for her to figure out what his definition of "sabotage" was…

"Takako, I'm sorry, but at least I came clean before it was too late! Nothing bad happened!" Shinji pleaded, his dignity out the window. He took another cautious step back but the heel of his right foot sunk slightly, and his eyes widened in horror realizing what was directly behind him.

Takako seemed to be regaining control of herself, but still looked beyond angry. "Well damn lucky for you nothing happened," she snarled, "if something did, I'd HAVE YOUR BALLS. You hear me?" She accented each word with a poke to Shinji's chest, but her last poke was more of a jab, causing Shinji to stumble back slightly to get out of her range.

Shinji yelped in a very unmanly way as his right foot came crashing through the barrier to the water, instinctively grabbing onto the first thing he could to keep from falling. His hands closed around Takako's arms, but she obviously wasn't a sturdy enough anchor to support his weight, and before he knew it he was crashing backwards into his own trap, Takako being pulled in on top of him.

Shinji submerged, reminding himself to thank Shuuya for refusing to build the pit any deeper. Well, if he lived long enough to see Shuuya again, that is. Takako seemed to figure out what had happened, and despite the awkward position in the water—his legs were bent inwardly against the floor of the pit while his back was against the wall, and she was straddling him and resting on his chest—she was clearly furious.

"Uh, Takako, I can explain—" Shinji started to say, but the fact that they were both submerged in a pit of cold, dirty water in the middle of the most important race of Takako's life to date said quite enough.

For his part, Shinji had never really appreciated just how beautiful Takako's eyes were when she was enraged. She was even angrier than she had been their first encounter in the school hallway, when he kissed her for the first time and started this entire chain of death, pain and annihilation. She looked like a goddess of death. A hot one.

That'd be a pretty cool name for a band, actually. Aaah, dammit, focus, Mimura! he ordered himself.

Takako didn't even notice the fifteen-or-so girls from other teams zip by them, and Shinji wasn't about to tell her THAT. Besides, she was currently occupied with something else. Being angry at him.

"YOU ASSHOLE!!" she shouted, unable to think of words good enough to describe her rage. "YOU MOTHER FUCKING ASSHOLE! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DUG A PIT TO TRAP ME!! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!?"

"I'm sorry!" Shinji whined, now resorting to anything possible to avoid his untimely demise. "Takako, I'm really sorry, I—you hit me in the balls!" he pointed out, but winced, thinking it was a bad idea to remind Takako off their presence.

Takako appeared angrier than she'd ever been in her life; her face was soaking wet and her bangs were sticking to her forehead, and Shinji hoped it was a trick of the light, but she looked like she was about to cry. "I don't believe this," she snarled. "There's no point of even getting out of here. I'm already way behind!!"

"I said I was sorry," Shinji said defensively.

Takako held her glare. "How would you like it if I came to your basketball championships and put itching powder in your shorts?

Shinji winced at the vision of him scratching his ass instead of making the winning shot, and realized for the millionth time that day that his friends were right and he was way out of line. "Takako…"

"Save your breath," she muttered. "I've already lost the biggest race in my life, and there's nothing you can do to fix it, so the least you can do is spare me the BS sympathy."

"You haven't lost yet," Shinji said, before he could stop himself again. "If you got out of here and really went for it, you could still win."

Takako gave him a disgusted look. "Are you on something?"

"Do people come from this stretch of the race again?" Shinji asked, on a roll.

Takako nodded slowly. "Yeah, but I don't get what you're—hey!" she protested, as Shinji stood up and put his arms around her waist to pull her out of the water. "What're you up to? If I just show up out of the blue I'm not going to be able to catch up!" she said.

"Maybe," Shinji said, "but…" he gestured to the destroyed trap. "In the time it takes you to run a mile I might be able to fix this up before everyone else shows up."

"What if they think I dug the pit to sabotage everyone?" Takako asked.

"You're already soaked," Shinji said. "If you get busted I'll tell the ref I did it 'cause…. Uhh… I like chicks in wet clothes. I'll think of something, just go!"

"Alright," Takako said, "but this doesn't make us even! I'm going to get you for this, you—" she was cut off by Shinji kissing her abruptly, which he now did to shut her up routinely.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm horrible. Now go!" he told her, turning her around and giving her a light shove.

Takako ran off faster than before, and Shinji stared after her for a good minute before remembering he had a trap to reconstruct.

* * *

Yahoo, chapter 11 is done. I can't wait to blow through the rest of the schoolyear to get to the super awesome Christmas party Yukie Utsumi's going to be throwing! :)

As always, review, tell me what you think! :0


	12. A Winner is You

What chapter is this now, Chapter 12? Damn. Story's almost more than halfway over :(

Ahem, anyway, let's see what kind of trouble our idiots get into today…

* * *

Takako was able to finish her first mile in twelve minutes. That was awful compared to her usual six-something minute standards, but she was definitely catching up. People were confused as to why she was soaking wet, but she decided to leave that question in the air. If anyone asked, she was a chronic sweater. (Ew.)

She turned the second loop of the race, going in another direction, although her mind wasn't on the race anymore… if anything, her lips were still tingling from Shinji's kiss earlier, and although she was still INSANELY PISSED OFF AT HIM, her brain kept playing good cop bad cop. Or whatever it was called, jumping to Shinji's defense only to contradict herself again and find an excuse to stay angry.

At least he DID come to his senses and warn her beforehand…

…but he still dug the damn pit to trap her in the first place!!

…yeah, but he DID say something, right?

IT DOESN'T MATTER! MIMURA HAS TO DIE!

Oh, hell.

Takako shook her head and looked forward, searching for a runner ahead of her. She loved "tagging" the runners ahead of her; she'd tag their jersey number in her mind, chase like hell after them, and once she passed them, find another person to tag.

Sometimes her chosen victim would shoot ahead of her too quickly and she didn't catch up to them until the second mile or so, but she had nearly a perfect record when it came to crushing her opponents…

She still wasn't too comfortable about the idea of trapping her opponents so she could get the advantage. Takako didn't like to cheat; she preferred to crush her unworthy opponents the good old fashioned way, delivering an unholy amount of whoopass onto their deserving asses. But as long as that idiot Mimura was willing to take the fall for it, she didn't care what he did.

She caught up to the girl ahead of her, smirking as she crossed number 73 off the list in her head. One down, more to go!

…as she continued, however, she couldn't help but wonder if that idiot Mimura had the nerve to dig another trap he _didn't_ tell her about…

* * *

"FUCK," Shinji groaned, as he attempted for the seventh time to fix the trap. When he stepped on it it didn't just break, it imploded; his and Takako's sudden entrance into the pit had pulled the tarp down and about half of the water had seeped into the earth again.

The water was about two feet deep rather than its original five, and Shinji didn't feel like dragging a hose from the the fire extinguisher again like he did earlier…

So instead, he launched a different idea, hopefully which would propel Takako to victory and get his ass off the hook. He re-arranged the flags indicating the course to follow to the runners, and led them off towards the river. When Takako showed up, or anyone else from his school for that matter, he'd tell them where to properly go.

A couple girls ran by; none of them were from his school, so Shinji promptly directed them towards the river. One of the girls looked at him skeptically until he realized his shorts weren't short enough to match those of the actual race officials. Whatever.

Hurry up, Takako, Shinji thought with a groan. The sooner I'm out of your firing range the better…

* * *

"Where did Mim go?" Hiroki asked suspiciously. "And you guys haven't answered my question yet! WHY are you here?"

Shuuya shrugged. "It's a nice day."

"Oh, right, the one day you all decide to get some fresh air and experience nature is the same day of Takako's district race, and Mim suddenly vanishes and hasn't shown up since the beginning of the race," Hiroki rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid! And I swear, if you guys did anything to sabotage her, I'm gonna break open a can of Hiroki Sugimura-style whoopass on your—go, Takako!" he cheered, as she ran by.

Shuuya and Yutaka exchanged nervous glances. Why was Takako still around…? And if she escaped from the trap unscathed, why hadn't Mim returned yet…?

"You don't think…" Yutaka began hesitantly.

"No way," Shuuya said doubtfully, shaking his head.

"Maybe we should go check," Yoshi suggested, looking nervous.

"HEY! Where're you going!?" Hiroki demanded. "You guys better not be up to something!"

"We're going to the bathroom! Don't come with! They're the nasty portables!" Shuuya hollered, and the three idiots ran off in search of their missing friend.

Hiroki shook his head and rolled his eyes. Sometimes he really wondered what he was on when he said "Hi, I'm Hiroki Sugimura, nice to meet you" to those particular bunch of idiots. Then again, Shuuya did help him out that one time when he was cornered by a bunch of thugs…

"HEY! The bathrooms are over there!" he suddenly realized.

* * *

"What're you doing!?" Takako screamed at Shinji as she came around the final bend of the race. Instead of a pile of victims lying in a trap like she assumed, he was directing traffic!

"Pit fell through! Literally!" Shinji told her. "I changed the course a bit, but keep going straight and you'll reconnect with the rest of the course!"

"You're an idiot!" Takako grumbled, but kept going. She wouldn't admit it but she was actually quite curious to see how many idiots Shinji tricked into running straight into the river…

Not fifteen seconds after Takako left, Shuuya and Yoshi showed up, looking incredulous.

"MIM!? What the hell!?" Shuuya yelped. "Why is Takako… gee, I don't know… NOT UNDERGROUND!?"

Shinji bit his lip. Although Takako was pleased (at least, he thought she was, considering how he was still alive) that he backed out of his trap plan, he doubted his friends—who had to work like slaves all night digging it—would be too thrilled if he told them he pussied out.

"She found out what it was, pushed me in, but I pulled her in with me," he told them. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. Sorry, guys.

Shuuya still looked annoyed. "All that work for friggen nothin'! But what the hell're you doin' now?"

"Directing everyone else off-course," Shinji said, gesturing to the direction the flags pointed to.

"I don't get this at all," Shuuya grumbled. "Then again I never do anymore."

Yutaka now arrived, huffing and puffing. "Oh… fuck…" he groaned. "I was so… not made… for cross country…"

"Don't be silly," Shinji said, grinning. "You weren't made for any sport."

"Shut up," Yutaka grumbled. "Where'd your girlfriend go? You two have a nice romp in the pit before she went running off again?"

Shinji scowled. "One, she's NOT my girlfriend, and two, she pushed ME into my own trap!" Technically THAT was true… she didn't physically shove him into the pit, since she didn't know it existed, but she did physically assault him in such a manner it drove him into it.

That still sounded pretty pathetic, but whatever, he didn't care.

"Well that was the last stretch of the race," Shinji said, checking his watch. "I've tricked pretty much everyone who came before Takako, so she should be finishing first or second—"

"Whoa, whoa! Hold the phone! What happened to making her come in last place!?" Shuuya asked incredulously. "Our best—and most toiled over, might I add—plan, and you had to be a gentleman and help her win!? You wimp!"

"Hey, think of it this way, she owes me now!" Shinji pointed out.

"And I'm sure Takako will agree with you there," Shuuya scoffed. "You better not start going soft on her, man… what, did she agree to having sex with you for doing this or something?"

"NO, but now that you mention it that's not a bad idea… and would you shut up!? I'm not going soft on her!" Shinji said, irritated. "C'mon, let's get out of here… she should be about done…"

* * *

Takako sprinted as fast as she could through the final 800 yards; she loved the final stretch of the race only because it was the best time to PASS people! There was nothing like passing people in the last stretch of the race when they were exhausted and too tired to catch up… but thanks to Mimura's idea, nobody was around and Takako had the victory chute all to herself.

She sprinted through as usual, barely taking in the sights of the people around her, her side feeling like it was about to explode. One of the assistants handed her a card with her number on it, a giant "1" scrawled on it.

She glanced up at her time and nearly screamed. "27 minutes!? Did you stop the clock or something?!" she yelped. She'd NEVER taken 27 minutes to run THREE AND A HALF MILES!!

The assistant shook her head. "No, although there's been an unusual lack of participants… was there a bear or something in the trees?"

"A bear? Nobody got mauled by a bear, you would've heard screaming," Takako said, hoping she didn't look too guilty (since she knew PERFECTLY WELL what was going on). The assistant eyed her suspiciously but seemed to accept her answer.

"Well, congratulations," said one of the officials, handing Takako the giant trophy. Takako took it and stared at it blankly.

"Don't I get a ceremony or anything? I just ran my ass off for this!" she said angrily.

"Sorry, Chigusa, but we've gotta find the missing participants," the official said, leaving.

Takako gritted her teeth and, in her rage, accidentally snapped the little runner off the top of the trophy. "ARRRRRRRGH!! SHINJI MIMURA, you're a DEAD MAN!" she growled.

* * *

Meanwhile, the idiots Shinji tricked into going the wrong way figured after running around in circles for quite a few miles they had been mislead. Several of the smarter ones had simply turned around, but the stupid/naïve ones were afraid of being disqualified, and kept running.

"So you saw him too? Tall guy, spiky hair, earring?" one girl asked.

"Yeah! He was pointing this way!" another girl whined.

"Funny, I don't see anyone from Shiroiwa Junior High around," said another girl, different from the first another girl. "Maybe that guy went to their school?"

"Let's turn around!" suggested a different girl.

* * *

"Mim, of all the crazy schemes, THIS has got to be the stupidest one you've EVER pulled off!" Shuuya said. "You know they think those girls who all went the wrong way got eaten by a bear!?"

"Like it's my fault they believed me!" Shinji complained. "And they don't even have bears around here!"

"MIMURA! THIS IS YOUR FAULT, GOD DAMMIT!!" Takako shouted, storming up to him and grabbing him by his shirt. "YOU IDIOT!!"

"Ow! Leggo!" Shinji yelled. "Damn! I know you want me Takako but this isn't the time or—OW!" he yelled, when she promptly smacked him upside his head.

"Oh I want you alright," Takako snarled, and Shinji's eyebrows shot up in surprise, earning another hearty smack. "I want you to admit to screwing up the race! If they find out we go to the same school they're gonna think it's sabotage and take away my pretty trophy!!"

"And what do you want ME to do about it?" Shinji asked. "You won, didn't you? What, they didn't give you a big enough trophy?"

Takako scowled. "The trophy isn't the problem here, jackass! It's like I didn't even earn it! Even Yutaka over there could've come in first place if his competition got eaten by a bear!"

"Yahoo!" Yutaka cheered. "I'm goin' out for cross country!"

Shinji made a face. "I don't see what the problem is here. You won, I'm still alive, everyone's happy, right?"

"I'M NOT," Shuuya piped up. "I have a blister on my hand from DIGGING all fucking night, look…"

"_SHUUYA_!! Look, you go home with your giant trophy, I go home and keep my mouth shut, who cares? Quit taking everything so seriously, Takako, get the stick out of your—uh, I mean, uh—" Shinji hadn't finished talking before Takako seized him once more in a death-grip.

"That's it, I've had enough of you," Takako yelled, "and I'm gonna do what I SHOULD'VE done a while ago!"

"And that might be what exactly?" Shinji smirked, well aware he was pushing his luck but deciding he didn't care, he was destined to die by Takako's hand anyway, might as well embrace it, maybe make out with her again before she murdered him…

Takako drew back her fist. Oh, hell, Shinji thought desperately, that's not what I was aiming for! Grab her! Stop her! Or they'll never find my body!

Shinji took his panicking brain's advice and pulled Takako against him; Takako yelped angrily and dropped her arm to shove him away. She started to yell at him, but before she could get any words out he was kissing her again.

"Man, not this again," Shuuya complained. "Is that all these two do? Piss each other off and make out?"

Takako tried to keep her crazed body under control; she pushed against his chest for a few minutes before finally giving up and reciprocating, her shoves unwillingly turning into a caress as she ran her hands over him. Shinji slid his hands down her back to rest on her ass, surprised when she didn't smack him for his audacity.

"Maybe we should leave?" Yutaka suggested.

"Maybe she DOES like him… she didn't get that frisky with me," Shuuya commented with a chuckle.

"HEY! That's him right there!" yelled a girl in a blue uniform.

"And—holy crap, is that Takako Chigusa?" another girl, this one in yellow, cried.

"HEY!" screamed an official, at an oblivious Shinji and Takako, "you two kids are in some serious trouble!"

"It'll be about another five seconds, Mim'll pull away, Takako'll look dazed for a few seconds, then she'll try to kill him," Shuuya explained, rolling his eyes (he'd sat through this a few times already).

Sure enough, Shinji pulled away, leaving Takako looking dazed. Once she snapped back to reality, she lunged for Shinji's throat, probably to rip it open, but was distracted by the official's presence.

"Can I help you?" Takako asked rudely, annoyed and embarrassed that he'd been standing there the entire time.

"In a minute, Chigusa. Young man, can I ask what you're doing here?" the official asked. "And exactly WHY were you rearranging flags? You realize you sabotaged the race, right?"

"I'm just here to root for my girlfriend," Shinji shrugged, thinking fast.

Shuuya groaned. Not again…

"Seriously, she was really worried about this race, so I wanted to help her," Shinji said, reaching over and grabbing Takako's hand. "I love this girl, sir, and it gives me great pain to see her worried about anything."

Takako would've gagged if it wouldn't have ruined the story. Well, if the basketball career didn't work out for him, Mimura could always write Hallmark cards for a living.

The official frowned and turned to Takako. "Chigusa, did you know about this?"

"Of course I didn't," Takako groaned. "If I knew, don't you think I would've told him to not bother? I was worried because I've been having abdominal pain lately, not because of the competition. I've beaten these pansies before and I could've beaten 'em again any day of the week. My—" she made a face as though the next thing she would say would cause her great pain "—_boyfriend_ didn't consult me here." She glared at Shinji.

"Oh. Well… we might re-schedule the race for another day, then," the official decided, glaring at Shinji. "Chigusa, your boyfriend here isn't permitted within 100 feet of this park the day of that race, mind you."

"Done," Takako said, looking relieved.

"As for you, uh, Chigusa's boyfriend—"

"MIMURA," Shinji corrected.

"Whatever. I take it you two attend the same school?" the official continued.

"Actually, we met at a—yes," Shinji grumbled, unable to think of a good story.

"Then I'll be contacting your principal soon, to remind you to STAY AWAY FROM CROSS COUNTRY!" the official snapped. He took Takako's trophy ("HEY!" Takako wailed) and stomped off, the two girls from rival schools making faces before leaving.

"At least they're re-scheduling the damn race," Takako said, looking relieved. She turned to Shinji angrily and yanked her hand roughly from his grip, wiping it on her shorts as though it was secreted with poison. "If I EVER—EVER—EVER find out you tried to trap me in a pit again, _I swear_, they won't find your body!" she hissed.

"It'll never happen again, fine," Shinji rolled his eyes. "'sides, there's more where that came from. I don't need some pit to get you where I want you anyway."

"He certainly doesn't need a BRAIN," Shuuya muttered.

* * *

A week later…

Takako sprinted towards the finish line. She'd never run so hard in her LIFE; after Shinji had wrecked her last race and the officials thought she cheated, she dedicated the final race of her junior high cross country career to proving she was NOT a cheater.

As usual, the last 100 yards of the course had been narrowed down into a final chute to the finish; people were crowded on both sides of the marker flags, forming a gauntlet of cheers.

There was a girl right on Takako's ass, maybe about a few yards behind her, but Takako paid the competition no notice as she sped towards the finish line. Almost there, almost there, almost—

"YEAH! GO TAKAKO!"

Takako's eyes widened in terror. That sounded like Shinji, that son-of-a-bitch, what's he—

"AAOW!" Takako yelped, tripping over her own foot and falling on the ground. Her eyes widened in horror as her life appeared to flash before her very eyes, in slow motion.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The girl behind her _leapt over_ Takako; Takako watched the bitch sail over her, land, and cross over the finish line, which was about a foot away from where Takako had fallen.

Takako stared in horror as the girl was swept through the other side of the finish line gauntlet by volunteers and adoring fans. THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ME!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Everything sped back to normal when Takako heard what sounded like raging cattle behind her. FUCKING HELL! MORE PEOPLE! She realized, and as quickly as she could scrambled up to the ground and stumbled the two feet towards the finish line.

Of course, second place is only the first place LOSER, so nobody gave two shits about her. Some volunteer pinned the blue ribbon to her jersey before rushing back over towards first place.

"NO! NO! NO!" Takako whined, falling to the ground in the victory chute and beating her fists on the ground until they bled, "NOOOOOOOO! GOD DAMN YOU TO HELL, SHINJI MIMURA!!!!!"

"Takako!?" cried Hiroki, running up to her and pulling her up to her feet, out of the way of the rampaging runners. "What's wrong!? You were great!"

"I WAS NOT!" Takako screamed, rearing on Hiroki in rage.

"You're right! You sucked!" Hiroki said in terror. Takako's expression somehow got ANGRIER; Hiroki whimpered in fear. "What do you want me to say, Takako!?"

"Where the hell is he!? I'm going to kill him!" Takako raged, "I'm going to destroy him! WHERE IS HE!?"

"Where's who?" Hiroki asked, confused.

Takako shook her fists angrily. "MIMURA!! Where the hell IS HE!?"

"Mim's not here!" Hiroki said, "At least if he is, I didn't see him!"

"He was the one yelling! I thought another fucking PIT was going to open up, so I got DISTRACTED!" Takako said angrily.

Hiroki's face suddenly paled.

Takako didn't miss this. "What?"

"I yelled that," Hiroki said meekly, "Takako, I'm sorry, I didn't know it'd distract you!"

Takako seemed, surprisingly enough, calm. "Don't worry. I'm not mad."

"Really?" Hiroki asked, relieved.

"I'M FURIOUS!" Takako shouted, "YOU STUPID ASS!"

Hiroki could only thank the good lord that Takako was exhausted and couldn't catch him, as he desperately tried to outrun her and the range of her fists.

Eventually, Takako gave up on chasing Hiroki; falling to her knees, she panted furiously, trying to catch her breath. She got to her feet, looking up at the sky. Well, with the entire world as my witness here, I will DESTROY Shinji Mimura! He's not gonna know what hits him!

* * *

I was going to do something a bit more anticlimactic, but this scenario works too. Just when we thought everyone would be getting along… nah. :D

Please review! And review my other Battle Royale stories too, if you like this story I'm sure you'll like the other ones! I'm not going to beg you—ahh, hell, I've got nothing to lose. REVIEW!!!!! :D


	13. First Anal Christmas Party

This chapter is proof that I really dropped the ball on my updating schedule. This chapter was supposed to come out around Christmas. XD

Ah well, if Top Chef can film a Christmas special in the middle of July (I'm on to you, Bravo and Top Chef producers) I can pull this chapter off. Because I'm awesome like that. :3

Does anyone actually read my inane blabbering in the beginning of the chapter or do you just skip through it and go straight to the chapter? I can't blame you if you do skip through my chattering, I'd probably do the same if I was you.

Ahem. Anyway, here we go, lucky Chapter 13… hell, if I knew this was gonna be Chapter 13, I'd have made it a bit more exciting XD

* * *

Two days later, the principal came on over the PA system at school. "CLASS B, MIMURA AND CHIGUSA, REPORT TO MY OFFICE IMMEDIATELY! CLASS B, MIMURA AND CHIGUSA, MY OFFICE!"

"WHAT!?" Takako yelled, outraged, jumping up. "What the hell did I do!?"

"I don't know, Chigusa," Mr. Nakanishi said, looking annoyed at the disruption. "Why don't you go down there and see for yourself?"

Takako stomped out of the classroom, and she noticed Shinji leaving his class right across from her. She nearly dove through the air football-style to seize hold of the front of his school shirt, shaking him furiously.

"WHATEVER YOU DID, I SWEAR—"

"You are stretching my shirt," Shinji complained. "Get off!"

Takako scowled and released him. Shinji scowled back. "What the hell makes you think this is MY fault? You're the one with the "hit first, think never" philosophy."

"This is probably something stupid I had nothing to do with," Takako grumbled, and Shinji was so annoyed he didn't speak for the rest of the reasonably short trip. They entered the principal's office in silence.

"Mimura, Chigusa, sit down. Personally I never thought I'd ever see either of you here unless you're accepting some athletic award or whatever," Principal Asou grumbled. "Chigusa, you planning on dying your hair back to its NATURAL color any time soon?"

"I'll dye my hair back when Mimura gets rid of his earring," Takako said flatly.

"Not happening, by the way," Shinji added. "What'd we do?"

Principal Asou groaned. "I got a call from some high-and-mighty cross country official with a stick up his… er, anyway, Mimura, apparently you caused some trouble at a cross country race, and it had to be rescheduled?"

"I already got out of trouble for that," Shinji said, not concerned in the least. "I told 'em I was worried about Takako or whatever…"

"What were you really up to, dare I ask?" Principal Asou asked. "Was it something to do with you two's, uh, relationship?"

"Yes," Shinji told him, while Takako groaned.

"I thought you two broke up! Why would you go so far as to sabotage a race she was in if she broke your heart? Well, unless you're trying to win her back, but getting her busted for cheating's not going to do that," Principal Asou said thoughtfully. He looked at Takako, who looked like she was about to crawl through the nearby air conditioning vents to escape.

"We're not dating, and we never were," she grumbled.

"She's still in denial," Shinji told Principal Asou.

Takako turned in her seat to glare at Shinji. "DENIAL!? I'll show you denial, you stupid cocky—" she swung at Shinji, who ducked, and her left hook hit Principal Asou right in the nose.

Shinji tried not to laugh. Takako visibly paled. The principal was not amused.

"GET OUT BOTH OF YOU!!" he screamed, pounding his fist on the desk. "God DAMMIT I hate teenagers!!"

Shinji hoisted a nearly-paralyzed Takako up out of her seat, dragged her out of the office, and glared at her. "You just had to go punching people in the face, didn't you?"

"ME!? ME!?" Takako sputtered, enraged. "ARRRGH!" Apparently losing her resolve, she threw her hands up exasperatedly and stormed off.

Shinji just laughed and shook his head. Too easy.

(A/N: Now, in this day and age, how much trouble would a kid get in for punching the principal in the face? XD I guess since Takako's such a good student she could get away with it, since it WAS an accident… hmmm…)

* * *

Hiroki still hadn't been able to stop laughing.

Takako's scowl became more and more pronounced as she told her story, her fists clenched so tightly Hiroki was sure she was drawing blood. However, it was too darn funny!

"So run this by me again," Hiroki chuckled, "Mim and Shu and the others actually DUG A PIT? To trap you in during your race?"

"For the fifth time, YES," Takako said shortly. "I don't see what's so funny! Those idiots could have cost me the districts trophy!"

"Well, you still won," Hiroki pointed out. "But a giant pit!? I mean, come on! That's Team Rocket stuff! What's next, are they going to build a rubber cage and try to capture your Pikachu—I'm sorry," he added quickly, seeing Takako's eyes burn with the murderous glare she (usually) reserved for Shinji.

"That's what I thought you said," Takako growled.

"And then you punched the principal in the face? I can't believe you got away with that!" Hiroki said, doubled over laughing. "You're my hero, you know that?"

Takako grinned at that. "Yeah, well… speaking of getting away with things, Mimura's not getting away with nearly screwing up my race. Basketball season's starting soon, right?"

"Not for a while. First pregame is in January," Hiroki said thoughtfully.

Takako swore. "Damn. Well, I guess there's plenty of time before then… y'know, make stupid Mimura think I've gone soft over Christmas, or whatever."

* * *

"She tried to hit you? Right in front of the principal?" Shuuya asked, astonished. "Shit. She's got pretty big balls for a girl." He thought for a second. "That's probably why ya like her, eyyy, Mim?"

Shinji chose to ignore that.

"The proper question is, what'd you do to her to piss her off?" Yoshi asked.

Shinji shrugged. "Nothing I haven't done before. I don't see how this is my fault, I didn't do anything."

"Except provoke her," Shuuya pointed out. "Ya know, poking the caged gorilla with a stick?"

Shinji instinctively felt eyes glaring at him and looked up, meeting Takako's glare. He winked back at her and smirked when her scowl deepened.

* * *

"SHUUYA! Hey, Shuuya! Wait up, Shuuuuya!!!"

Shuuya groaned to see Yukie Utsumi nearly sprinting down the hallway towards him. She came to a stop, beaming at him.

"Hi, Yukie," he said, eying her cautiously. "Uh, Mim's not around…"

"I'm not looking for him," Yukie said dismissively. "Look, my parents are out of town next weekend and they're letting me throw a party!"

"What kind of party? Rock music and beer everywhere?" Shuuya asked eagerly, his eyes dancing.

Yukie looked scandalized. "WHAT!? Of course not!" she gasped. "What the hell kind of person do you think I am, Shuuya!? It's a freakin' _Christmas_ party!"

"Sorry! I was just wondering," Shuuya said defensively. "Anyway, you need a guitarist or something? Because depending on what kind of sound system you have, I charge from 100,000 to 500,000,000 yen a gig, snacks not included in the initial down payment—"

"I don't want you to play guitar," Yukie said impatiently. "I want you to come, as a _guest_." She batted her eyelashes innocently at him. "It'll be fun, Shu. There'll be food, decorations, and—" her smile somehow managed to get bigger—"mistletoe!!"

Shuuya hoped he didn't wince visibly. "Uhhh, I—"

"See you there!" Yukie said, handing him two invitations. "One's for Mimura too! Invite him for me, okay?"

"Why can't you?" Shuuya asked, and his eyes widened. "Yukie Utsumi's FIRST ANAL CHRISTMAS PARTY!? Fucking hell, Yukie! What kind of guy do you think I am!?"

Yukie moaned in torture. "Oh, not you too! I forgot to spell check before I printed these out! There won't be any sex at my party!"

"Then you _might_ not want to invite Mim and Takako," Shuuya grinned. "Speaking of which, why do _I_ have to invite him?"

Yukie's face became thoughtful. "Well, I tried to… but he saw me coming and did a complete 180! It's like he wanted to get away from me!"

Shuuya chuckled. "I wonder why…"

* * *

"Takako, Takako!"

Takako groaned, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole. No, it wasn't stupid Shinji shouting her name for once, but instead was Yukie Utsumi, who was probably—no, _definitely_ worse than Shinji was. At least Shinji was hot. STOP THAT, she scolded herself.

"Takako! Hi!" Yukie said, brandishing a big stack of papers in her hand.

"Go away," Takako grumbled.

Yukie's smile didn't lose its radiance. "I know something that'll cheer you up!" she sang.

"Mimura's been hospitalized?" Takako asked hopefully, her eyes lighting up.

"No, of course not! That's not very nice," Yukie reprimanded. "No, instead I want to invite you to my house for my first annual Christmas party!" She handed Takako an invite.

"_First anal_ Christmas party?" Takako made a face. "I'm not into that sort of thing, thanks."

Yukie's eyes widened. "Really? But I heard Shinji and Shuuya and you used to—"

"Whatever you heard isn't true!" Takako interrupted, scowling. "I'm not coming. I see enough of you and your company during school hours."

Yukie looked hurt. "Aww, c'mon, Takako, don't be like that! Look, if you come, I promise I'll hang EXTRA mistletoe up so you and Mimura can—"

"How many times do I have to tell you, THERE IS NO MIMURA—"

"I can't believe you're still denying it!" Yukie said, shaking her head, her long braids swinging. "Well, anyway, here you go! Invite Hiroki too, if you see him!"

"Why can't you?" Takako asked.

"I don't know… the strangest thing, but I called to him today, and he saw me coming and jumped off the stairwell! It's like he was running away from me!" Yukie said doubtfully.

"I can't imagine why," Takako said sarcastically.

* * *

"Yukie's having a Christmas party? Ew," Shinji scoffed. "How does someone have a _first annual_ Christmas party? That's anachronistic."

"Couldn't agree more, buddy. So, what do you say? Wanna go?" Shuuya asked. "Free food…"

"Not really. Why? Do you?" Shinji asked.

"Uh…"

"I'll take that as a "well, if Noriko's going I want to go, but if Noriko's not going I don't want to go!!!", like it always is," Shinji laughed, putting on a high-pitched voice to mimic Shuuya.

Shuuya made a face. "Shut up. What about you, huh?"

"What ABOUT me?" Shinji asked, uninterested.

"Is Takako going? You won't go if she's not going, am I right?" Shuuya smirked.

"Why else would I go besides to piss her off? Why ELSE, in the name of all that is good and holy in this forsaken universe, would I go anywhere near Yukie Utsumi house? She's probably bugging every room in the house as we speak, so she can catch the people who sneak upstairs and fuck because her party sucks so bad," Shinji scoffed.

"In other words, if you go, she'll catch you and Takako on tape in every friggen room in the damn—OWW!" Shuuya yelled, his statement earning a hearty punch from Shinji. He punched him back. "Jackass!"

* * *

"A Christmas party? Yukie chased after me earlier, but I thought it was about you, so I just ran away," Hiroki said. "Ooh, there's going to be Christmas cookies!" he said, his face lighting up.

Seeing the disgusted look on Takako's face, he quieted down. "So, do you want to go?"

Takako made a face. "Hell no. Why, do you?"

"Err… uh…"

Takako rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a "well, if Kayoko's going I want to go, but if Kayoko's not going I don't want to go!!!", like it always is," she said, putting on a high-pitched voice to mimic Hiroki.

"Stop! For the millionth time it's not like that!! And my voice hasn't been that high-pitched for years!" Hiroki whined. "What about you?"

"What ABOUT me?" Takako asked, uninterested, studying her fingernails.

"Is Mim going? You're not going to go if he is, are you?" Hiroki grinned.

Takako made a face. "Of course I'm not going to go if he's going. The last thing I need is to catch him off school property, I might be too tempted to KILL HIM—"

"Or catch him under the mistletoe," Hiroko teased. "'Tis the season, Taka—"

"Oh shut up!"

* * *

Saturday, December 22 came soon, and it looked like most of Class B, including Shinji and Takako, were (reluctantly in the case of those two) going to Yukie's party. Yukie had taken painstaking measures to make her house, inside and outside, look like some kind of cheesy overdone winter wonderland, and the temperature outside was finally starting to drop, making it feel a bit more Christmas-y.

For once, Shinji and Takako weren't planning anything, for neither of them knew if the other was going. If Takako saw Shinji there she would leave; and if Shinji _didn't_ see Takako there, he would leave.

"My hair looks too done," Shinji whined, displeased. "AARRGH!"

"Takako'll hate you no matter what your hair looks like, you metrosexual sissy. Hurry up," Shuuya groaned.

"What're you so eager for? I'm leaving if Takako's not there," Shinji said, grabbing his letter jacket off his chair.

"I'm hungry," Shuuya whined, as they left Shinji's house, "and we've still gotta walk to Yukie's damn house!"

"Guess what I got yesterday?" Shinji asked, obviously excited to share this particular bit of information.

"Laid?" Shuuya guessed, and laughed. "Sorry, couldn't help it. What'd you get?"

"Takako's mobile number," Shinji said proudly. "I hacked into her service provider's customer service thing last night and got it, it's—"

"You couldn't have just stolen Sugimura's phone or something and gotten it from there?" Shuuya rolled his eyes. "God, Mim. You could make us both millionaires with that kind of skill, but instead you get a _girl's phone number_. How lame can you get?"

"Enlighten me. Exactly how would I make millions of dollars by hacking into a computer program?" Shinji asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you could, like, schedule me to open for a concert or somethin'—I hear Bon Jovi's might be comin' in July," Shuuya offered hopefully.

"Yeah, and when Bon Jovi asks "who the hell are you", you're gonna tell him you're the next big thing in music," Shinji scoffed. "You're just livin' on a prayer, Shu."

"Why must you piss on my dreams?" Shuuya grumbled. "Woo hoo, we're here." Yukie's house was closer to Shinji's than they thought.

"Hooray," Shinji groaned. "Let's get this over with… oh, and for your sake, stay away from any girls crowded under specific parts of the ceiling," he added. "They all think I'm with Takako again, so they're going after you now."

Shuuya made a face. "Too bad I was born with these movie star good looks…"

* * *

"This party sucks more than a two-dollar hooker," Takako grumbled.

"Don't be sad, Takako, I'm sure Mimura'll show up—oh, someone else is here!" Yukie said, jumping up to go answer the door.

Takako made a face and groaned. Most of Class B was here, except Shogo Kawada, Kazuo Kiriyama's gang, and Mitsuko's gang. Most were here under the promise of free food; Kazushi Niida kept checking his breath and eyeing the mistletoe clumps which had been put up everywhere, and Yoji Kuramoto was fumbling with something in his pocket.

"SHUUYA! YOU CAME YOU CAME YOU CAME YOU CAAMME!!!" Yukie shrieked, then seemed to contain herself. "Uh, I mean, uh, Merry Christmas!" She turned around. "Hey, Takakoooo, Mimura's here!"

"Oh boy," Hiroki muttered. Takako scowled, deciding she'd sneak out the back door when Yukie wasn't paying attention.

Yukie seized Shuuya's wrist and pulled him inside, shutting the door in Shinji's face ("Hey!") and pushing him down eagerly on her couch, sitting down next to him.

Shuuya looked afraid for his life. Yukie apparently remembered she left Shinji outside and went to get the door, her eyes not leaving the top of Shuuya's head.

"Hi Noriko!" Shuuya said, and Noriko beamed at him. Yukie promptly slammed the door shut before Shinji could get in, hitting him in the face in the process ("Ow!"), and stormed over, jamming herself in between Shuuya and Noriko again.

* * *

A/N: I was going to make this chapter longer, but I decided—A, Ch 14 is already going to be insanely long, and B—I don't wanna miss American Idol. :D NICK MITCHELL FTW!!!!!!!!


	14. Takako's Christmas Fist of Fury

A/N: Instead of an irrelevant anecdote to start the chapter off, I'd like to say— Holy crap, 43 reviews for this story!? This is the fifteenth chapter, I have no idea how many are left to go, in the range of 5-10; but seriously, thanks a lot, guys!I also get a lot of "add story to favorites" without reviews… I know you're there, you lurkers! I'm on to you! :D

Anyway, thanks a lot and here we go with chapter 15. I would give the chapters witty names or something, but I'm too lazy for that. Maybe someday. XD

* * *

The only reason Shinji hadn't left in disgust after having the door slammed shut in his face, TWICE, was because he recognized the orange-streaked hair from the window, therefore he wasn't going anywhere until Takako did. Only thing was, he had to get INSIDE… and stupid Yukie wasn't able to stay focused on one task for more than two seconds, apparently.

"YO! Forgetting something!?" Shinji hollered, and Yukie jumped, remembering she left Shinji outside, AGAIN. She ran to the door and opened it, but before Shuuya could do something to distract her, Shinji grabbed the door and squeezed himself through before allowing her to shut it.

About thirty bored faces, one gleeful face (Yukie's) and one angry face (Takako's) glanced at him as he came in; looked like most of the class was here. Meaning, there wasn't anything good on TV tonight.

He made a beeline for Takako and sat down right next to her, watching Yukie nearly faint from excitement and everyone else groan, knowing what was coming next…

"Hey babe," he said loudly, and Takako rolled her eyes.

Shuuya was talking to Noriko again, and Yukie got up and stormed over to the stereo system that had been playing mild Christmas tunes, and blasted it up as loud as it could go to the heavy metal station.

Everyone jumped from the sudden blast of noise; Yukie smirked victoriously in the direction of Shuuya and Noriko.

"Even the music sucks," Shinji complained. He glanced over at Takako and smirked. "You look pretty. Nice of you to get all dressed up for me."

Takako made a face. "Don't even kid yourself! You wish!"

"Sure do," Shinji said, grinning. "Want to dance?"

"Sure. With who?" Takako smirked.

"With your boyfriend, of course," Shinji said, not recoiling. "C'mon."

"No," Takako said firmly, lowering her voice. "Look, drop it, you and I both know we've never once dated."

Shinji nodded. "True. But we HAVE made out at least a dozen times, which counts if you ask me. Hell, we didn't even waste time on those ridiculously awkward dinner dates, we skipped right to the fun stuff." He stopped. "Well, the introduction to the fun stuff."

"You're disgusting," Takako told him. "Besides, you made out with me. It doesn't count if we both didn't want it."

"Says you. You've kissed me on your own, and you always kiss me back," Shinji told her. "You know if I kissed you right now you'd kiss me back like you always do."

"I don't always kiss you back," Takako snapped, although truthfully she couldn't think of a case when she didn't. Seeing Shinji's smirk get bigger, she figured he couldn't either.

Hiroki was still sitting next to Takako on her other side, therefore he could hear every word of their nauseating conversation. Although he was disgusted by both Takako and Shinji's actions throughout this entire fight, he had to admit, they seemed perfect for each other.

He knew Shinji was still playing along for shits and giggles, and Takako was still out for his blood, but he could tell Shuuya was thinking the same thing, despite fact that they weren't on speaking terms.

In other words, the only ones who hadn't yet figured out that Shinji and Takako were perfect for each other WERE Shinji and Takako, and Hiroki was starting to wonder how long it would take for these two idiots to pull their heads out of their asses to see it.

* * *

Yukie's clocks must be wrong, Takako thought desperately, staring at the clock in horror, and comparing it to the LCD clock on her cell phone. The times matched.

Angrily, she jammed her cell back into the back pocket of her black shorts. There's no way I've only been here for a half hour!!

Yukie was a step ahead of her (and Shuuya) all night, it seemed. Every time Takako tried to sneak out, Yukie always caught her and dragged her back inside, squealing about something having to do with Mimura. And whenever she wasn't trying to drag Takako back in the house, Yukie was following Shuuya around like a hawk, trying to keep him away from Noriko at all times. When she went off to chase Takako, she assigned a spy to tail Shuuya.

Thing was, Takako _had _been going out of her way to avoid Shinji; he was annoying her as usual, but she did NOT want to wind up kissing him again! Every time they had an argument, a confrontation, an altercation, or any other type of verbal exchange, they wound up making out for the next five minutes.

Not that she minded kissing Mimura… he was beyond good at it, but whenever he kissed her she lost control of her own actions, which was why she had to distance herself from it. The two of them making out wasn't surprising anymore, the whole school had seen or heard of them doing it a thousand times. Now they did it to shut each other up, or in Mimura's case, to prevent her from killing him.

Actually, in my defense, I've kissed him ONCE, Takako thought, every other one was HIS fault, not mine. That's why—

"Hey, Takako. Having fun?" Kazushi Niida asked, smirking.

"Who let you inside?" Takako asked with a groan.

"Oh, don't be like that. Wanna go upstairs? I hear that's where the real party is." Kazushi's nasty smirk got glared at him. "How stupid do you think I am, Niida?"

"Pretty stupid, considering you used to go down on Mimura," Kazushi said spitefully, "although you're smarter than I thought for dumping his ass. He must've been _really_ bad if you got bored with him like they say you did…"

Takako frowned. She could rip on Mimura as much as she wanted, but Niida sure as hell couldn't. "Actually, he was the best I ever had," she snapped, crossing her arms haughtily, and mentally reminding herself that Shinji would NEVER find out this conversation happened. His ego would inflate like a puffer fish if he found out she was playing along even when he wasn't around.

Kazushi snorted. "That's because he's probably the ONLY one you've ever had." He stopped. "No, wait, didn't you fuck Shuuya too? I never figured you were that easy, Takako! Not that that's a bad thing or anything…"

"Shut up," Takako growled.

Kazushi chuckled. "Who'd you fuck first? You guys do a threesome or something?"

"I said, SHUT UP!" Takako shouted.

Kazushi laughed. "You were a virgin, weren't you?"

Takako flushed. "That's none of your business."

"Oh don't deny it, like we all don't know," Kazushi sneered. His voice turned thoughtful. "So you've only been with Mimura and Shuuya, huh? I could show you how a real man does it."\

"You'll go get Mimura for me?" Takako asked, pretending to act surprised. "Gee, thanks—"

"No, you dumb bitch, I'm talking about me!" Kazushi exploded, grabbing her arm.

And the line is crossed. "Get your filthy fucking hand off me," Takako snarled, clenching her fist menacingly.

Kazushi smirked. "What're you gonna do, sic your little bitch Mimura on me—OWW!" he cried, when Takako punched him in the eye.

"I don't need Shinji to fight my battles for me. Next time I tell you to get off me, I better see some results," Takako snapped, shoving him backwards into Yukie's fridge. He grunted in pain.

Leaving Kazushi hunched over, holding his face and crying in pain, Takako purposely shoved him aside to cross the kitchen to get something to drink.

She didn't know what made the fruit punch taste so different, but whatever it was it tasted good. Refilling her cup, she kicked Kazushi again for good riddance, smirked at his loud yelp, and left the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Don't drink the punch, Mim," Shuuya said, looking disgusted. "Somebody spiked it… they think Yoji did it, Yoshimi broke up with him again and he's trying to get laid to piss her off—"

"That's not a bad idea coming from that little wanker," Shinji commented. "What'd he put in it?"

"Couple bottles of vodka or whisky, I think. Nothing heavy, so probably some little light weight's gonna crash," Shuuya laughed. "I for one am not going anywhere near that shit. Last thing I need is to get wasted and wake up in Yukie's bed or something."

"Anyone wasted yet?" Shinji asked.

"I haven't seen anyone so far," Shuuya sighed, "but Yukie and her friends won't stop chasing after me!! I'm serious, man, every time I turn around one of 'em's behind me! I feel like I'm being followed by a pack of bloodhounds!"

"Just kiss one of 'em already so they leave you alone! They're not _all_ weird looking," Shinji said, annoyed; Takako was obviously avoiding him and it pissed him off to hear Shuuya whining about girls CHASING him.

"Oh, because kissing girls solves all YOUR problems," Shuuya rolled his eyes. "Yoshi's on his way, he's done helping Ms. Ryoko with the Christmas decorations."

Shinji just humphed (A/N: Stop changing that to "HUMPED", Auto Correct) and checked his watch. "Whatever."

Shuuya sighed. "Alright, I'll bite. What's got your nuts in a twist?"

Shinji scowled. "Takako's avoiding me," he grumbled. "Keep an eye out for her!"

"Why can't you, man?" Shuuya chuckled, and lowered his voice. "Look, Mim, just tell her you like her! It's Christmas, she's—"

"Absolutely not," Shinji snapped. "If I said that—and might I add, _it's not true_—it would end the entire fight, all she'd have to do is say she's not interested and it'd be over."

"What if she likes you back? I know you like her, Mim, quit denying it," Shuuya sighed. "God, you're SO FUCKING STUBBORN—"

"Shut up!" Shinji growled. "As for Yukie and them, tell them you've like sworn a vow of chastity or something—"

"They won't believe that, I made out with Takako too, remember?" Shuuya reminded him. "I hate that I've been dragged into this! Everyone thinks I slept with her too!"

"So?" Shinji asked.

Shuuya groaned in exasperation. "They all think she's still in love with you and they feel sorry for ME! They _won't fucking give up_—"

"Hey, that's your fault for using that "last night" line on her in front of people," Shinji said, previous feelings of anger about that resurfacing. "Then quit being nice and tell 'em you're not interested! And if you see Takako let me know!"

"Fine, fine," Shuuya groaned, once again cursing his good looks.

* * *

Takako took another gulp of her drink, aware she seemed to be stumbling. She figured it wasn't a big deal, the new platform boots she was wearing were two inches higher than usual—is that Mimura? she wondered, seeing someone tall across the room.

No, that's not Mimura, that's Haruka, she told herself, shaking her head to clear it. Ugh… my head hurts, she thought with a groan. I should go home, I think I'm going to be sick…

"Takako?!" Hiroki asked, walking up to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Takako said, closing her eyes to focus. "Ugh. I think it's this damn atmosphere."

"Well, don't drink any of the punch, Niida and Yoji spiked it," Hiroki rolled his apparently blind eyes. "People these days, I tell you."

"Uh huh," Takako nodded, not really listening. "Hey, have you seen Mimura anywhere?"

"No. I thought you were—" Hiroki apparently saw Kayoko walk by and got all excited. "Kayoko! Takako, do you mind?" he asked.

Takako shrugged. "I'm not your mother. Go ahead!"

Hiroki sighed. "I didn't mean it like THAT, Taka. Kayoko!" he called, going after her.

Takako rolled her eyes and stumbled upstairs, wanting to get away from all these crazy people… she closed the bathroom door behind her, leaned against the wall and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

She gulped down the rest of her drink and looked at herself. She was looking DAMN GOOD… she twirled a piece of her long hair around her finger absentmindedly.

There was a loud knock on the door, causing her to jump. "HEY! Takako? You in there?" the voice on the opposite side of the door asked.

"Mimura!" she said, recognizing the voice and opening the door.

"Hey, you're still here," Shinji said. "I thought you were going to climb out the window. Hey—" he put his hands on her shoulders and took a good look at her, looking surprisingly concerned. "Uh, are you OK?"

"Huh? Yeah! I'm fine," Takako said, looking at him. "Why?"

Shinji looked at her for a moment longer and shook his head. "Forget it. We should probably go back downstairs, before people start wondering where we are…"

"No way, screw them," Takako said, grabbing his hand, "let's stay up here instead."

"Yeah, alright," Shinji agreed, looking surprised. He smirked. "You're not drunk, are you?"

"Of course I'm not!" Takako said, shaking her head.

"Oh. Then who are you, and what'd you do with the real Takako?" Shinji asked suspiciously. "Because normally, you would've pushed me down the stairs if I even _suggested_—"

"No I wouldn't have," Takako said, swinging his arm playfully.

"Yup, you're drunk," Shinji shook his head.

"No, I'm not!" Takako insisted, giving him a hard shove backwards, following him until he was against the wall. She stepped closer towards Shinji until she was pressed against him, with her arms around his shoulders.

By now, Shinji was giving her a wide-eyed stare. "Uhh… Takak—" Takako cut him off by kissing him, but she pulled back again before he could actually respond.

She also had one of his legs trapped between both of hers, bumping her hips against his as she stumbled about, eventually just leaning against him. And although Shinji sure as hell wasn't about to go anywhere, he could definitely taste the alcohol on her lips. Yup, she's trashed.

Takako's mouth was on his again, one of her hands straying down his chest and the other in his hair. "Ooh, what's that?" she asked with a giggle, pressing her hips against Shinji's very prominent boner.

"Uhh—"

Takako giggled again, which was weird. She never giggled. "I bet you wanna fuck me," she grinned, kissing him again.

I bet you're drunk off your ass, Shinji thought, but instead smirked at her. "I bet you don't remember what my name is."

Takako just giggled again, kissing him again, and Shinji decided he didn't give two shits if she was drunk or not. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed her back, pulling her closer to him, groaning as she pressed her body against his.

They pulled back, unable to stop staring at each other; Takako grabbed his hands and jerked him in the direction of an empty bedroom (the other two were apparently occupied) and Shinji was only too happy to follow her lead.

* * *

ZOMG ALCOHOL USAGE D: Hammered Takako was too much fun to write. XD

In my criminology class, we talked about alcohol, how when you're drunk you're more likely to be HONEST than you are to be lying, and they've caught criminals confessing to crimes when they're drunk. I figured I could relate that in here somewhere. XD

Also, if you're wondering why Yoshi and Yutaka play such small roles in the story… they're really just in as filler characters. I know they're BFFs with Shuuya and Shinji respectively, but I can't think of enough lame jokes for Yutaka and Yoshi was always kind of boring. (IMO). So that's why I just use Shinji and Shuuya's BFF-ness as a storyline.

I updated my other Shinji/Takako fic, Motored; go read and review that too! Seriously, type your favorite number or something. Just review! :)


	15. Temporary Cease Fire

I am a dodo. After that long blubbering speech about "ZOMG ALL THESE REVIEWS AT CHAPTER 15! YOU LIKE ME, YOU REALLY LIKE ME!" in the last chapter, turns out I can't count. XD

Anyway enough of those also-ran chapter 15's; the REAL chapter 15 is here to put the imposters to shame!(I've been watching too much TV. Damn you Spring Break.)

Um, this chapter is kind of iffy in terms of two minors getting their groove thing on. Nothing you didn't see in Superbad though.

* * *

The door had barely closed before they were at it again; their kiss was as demanding as ever and Takako had already ripped open Shinji's long sleeved button up shirt and yanked it off him.

Now she was tugging at his wife beater undershirt, trying to pull it off him without ripping it in half. They pulled away briefly so she could pull it over his head, and their lips collided again once it was off.

Shinji's hands were running up and down her back, her shoulder blades bare due to the top she was wearing, a sleeveless blouse with straps that tied around her shoulders. He untied the shoulder straps, and Takako pushed him off her for a second to throw off the rest of her shirt, tossing it to the floor and giggling.

The words _holy shit_ were about all Shinji's brain was able to process at the moment, as Takako, now wearing her bra and a pair of short shorts, grabbed him and kissed him again, her hands sliding up the muscles of his back.

Now her hands were on his chest, tracing his abdominal muscles, and she took a few steps forward, pushing him towards the bed in the middle of the room. When his legs hit the frame, his knees buckled and he fell backwards onto the mattress. Never breaking their kiss, Takako came crashing on top of him, and Shinji pushed one of his legs between hers, parting them. Takako's fingers were running through his hair and her tongue was in his mouth.

Her rack was pressed against his bare chest and he thought his pants were going to explode, but Takako still didn't seem to notice anything, obliviously kissing him and straddling his hips playfully. She pulled back from his mouth and beamed.

"Still saying you're not drunk?" Shinji asked, staring at her almost in shock. They'd had their moments before, sure, but he didn't figure he'd get this lucky THIS early on!

"No, I'm not!" Takako insisted.

"Uh huh," Shinji said, and Takako leaned down and kissed him again, her long hair getting in his face. Shinji had always figured if a girl was stupid enough to get herself publicly trashed, she deserved whatever happened to her…

…but Takako had probably drank that spiked punch; she had no idea what she was doing, and that reasoning was the only thing stopping him from fucking her. He figured they could just make out for a few more hours, at least until Yukie's boring party was over.

"Are you up yet?" Takako groaned, pulling back.

"Maybe we should just make out some more," Shinji suggested, "I'm, uhh…"

Takako pouted, rolling her eyes and folding her arms. "Oh come on! I want to get with you, Shinji, I wanna fuck already!"

Shinji groaned. He and a very drunk Takako were both half-naked on a bed belonging to Yukie Utsumi, the biggest gossip in school. Takako was on top of him, bouncing up and down on him, and she was asking him to fuck her…

Ah, screw it. Knowing his luck, a meteor was going to hit this place in an hour.

"Yeah, so do I," Shinji said, kissing her, and with a grunt rolled them over. Now he was on top of her, propping himself up with his arm, his leg tangled up with hers. Takako's hands moved to his back, and when her hand traveled lower, her fingers wandered underneath the waistband of his jeans, and he let out a groan himself.

Shinji's mouth left hers in favor of kissing her face instead; he kissed the corner of her lips and moved across her cheek to her neck. She tilted her head to the side to give him more access, egging him on with her soft moans he doubted she knew she was making. Her hand dug into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling him closer to her.

Shinji unknowingly grinded his growing erection into Takako's side and groaned, the pressure in his pants becoming very uncomfortable. Deciding to compensate by leaning in to kiss her, she didn't make it any easier on him by running her hands down his chest again.

Takako whimpered and rolled over to face him, pushing her body against his, straddling him and kissing him back fiercely. They didn't hear the banging on the door, and their growing passion came to an abrupt stop with the door being flung open.

"Mim, I'm sorry, I tried to stop them—"

"OH MY GOD!"

"Get the camera! GET THE FUCKING CAMERA!"

"I have the camera!"

"Eww! Isn't that your bed!"

"Mim, I'm sorry, man—"

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Shinji and Takako looked at the crowd outside the door, Takako yelping in embarrassment and trying to hide behind Shinji to avoid thirty people gawking at her. Unfortunately, Yukie had been prepared and had her camera out.

"Arrgh," Shinji groaned, as the bright flash temporarily blinded him. "Fucking hell. Don't you people know what a sock on the door means?"

"Carry on!" Yukie squealed, and ran out the door, followed by the rest of the interested party-goers. Shuuya lagged behind, even abandoning Yutaka and Yoshi, as they were swept away with the crowd. When everyone was gone, he shut the door, looked around, and exploded.

"WHAT THE HELL, MAN! HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU GUYS!" Shuuya shouted, looking so angry Shinji was taken aback.

"Calm down, man, we didn't do anything—" he tried to say, but Shuuya would hear nothing of it.

"Yeah, save it! How many more times is this gonna happen? For two people who aren't really fucking behind everyone's backs you two sure get caught doing it a lot! You two idiots just snuck off like that, thinking nobody saw you! Well, while you two were—I don't even want to know—Yukie saw you guys were gone, and stupid Satomi starts shouting she saw you going upstairs, and then stupid Niida says Takako beat him up! And I had to distract Yukie and everyone else by—" Shuuya shook his head. "I can't even begin to tell you! What the hell were you THINKING!"

Shinji sat up, rubbing his shoulder and hoping Shuuya wouldn't notice how tight the crotch of his jeans was fitting him. "Look, Shu, I lost control, Takako's the one who dragged me in here anyway," he answered, glaring over at her.

"I'm sure she dragged you kicking and screaming, too," Shuuya rolled his eyes. "She's smashed, Mim, look at her!"

Takako hiccuped loudly.

Shinji winced. She wasn't helping his cause any. "She said she wasn't," he insisted, although that defense didn't sound any smarter out loud than it did in his head.

"It's a good thing they busted in on you two when they did, you're about to cream your pants, aren't you?" Shuuya said, shaking his head. "But you don't like her or ANYTHING, Mim, you two were just ACTING here. Seriously, is this the best place you could think of? Of all the places in the world you were going to screw her in Yukie's bedroom!"

"When you put it like that, no," Shinji said, grabbing his undershirt off the floor and pulling it back on. "Y'know, I'm more sick of getting interrupted all the time than people talking about it." He pulled his long-sleeved button up shirt on top of his undershirt again.

He glanced over at Takako, who hadn't bothered to redress herself and was sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing her head. "You've been oddly quiet. How come you haven't freaked out yet?"

Takako shook her head. Shinji glanced over at Shuuya, who shrugged. Shinji picked her abandoned top off the ground and sat down next to her, shaking her bare shoulder lightly. "Oi. Takako. Welcome back to planet Earth."

Takako shook her head again, covering her mouth with her hand. Shinji sighed and put his arm around her consolingly. "So Yukie got pictures of us about to have sex, it'll be fine," he told her, "even though, technically, this IS all your fault—"

Takako grabbed onto his shirt sleeve and closed her eyes. Shinji looked at her.

Shuuya's eyebrows shot up. "Uhh, Mim, I think she's gonna—"

With a retching sound, Takako leaned over and threw up on Shinji's lap and a good part of the floor.

"Eww," Shinji said, making a face.

* * *

"Exactly how much did you drink?" Shinji asked, mildly amused. The three of them—him, Takako, and Shuuya—were crowded in the bathroom. Shinji was standing in his shirt and boxers trying to rinse Takako's vomit off his jeans and sneakers in Yukie's shower. Shuuya was sitting on the sink and Takako was seated on the (closed) toilet.

"Not that much," Takako muttered, shivering slightly. "Only five cups… maybe more, I lost count."

"You know it was spiked, right?" Shinji asked, impressed Takako had imbibed that much alcohol in one sitting despite the fact that she threw up.

"Well, that would explain the headache, and the vomit," Takako groaned, rubbing her head. "Oh, god, I don't feel good…"

"Shouldn't you be in front of the toilet?" Shuuya suggested nervously, scooting further away from her.

Takako shook her head. "I'm not gonna puke again," she grumbled.

"Yeah, you got most of it on ME," Shinji complained. "Well, this sure explains why you're acting the way you were… you forgot you hated me, didn't you?" He smirked.

Takako shook her head. "I don't hate you," she said, looking down at her platform boots in embarrassment.

Shuuya made a face, but Shinji, in his surprise, dropped his now-clean jeans onto his not-cleaned sneakers, getting vomit all over them again. He didn't seem to notice or care. "That's the alcohol talking," he finally said. "Takako, you'd better get home before you do something like this again. Shu, can you take her?"

"Why can't you?" Shuuya whined. "It's freezing out there, man, I just wanna go home and go to bed—"

"I'm not going out there in a pair of wet jeans, all those insane girls down there will think I REALLY fucked her," Shinji snapped. "I'm gonna dry myself off and climb out the window!"

"Can't you both come?" Takako piped up, looking at them both. "I feel like I'm gonna die, my head is killing me…" Her buzz from the alcohol she'd imbibed was clearly dead and she was concentrating on keeping her head clear.

"That's probably just an after-effect of making out with Mim here," Shuuya chuckled.

Shinji glared at him. "Do you really want to piss off the guy holding a pair of vomit covered shoes?"

Shuuya shook his head frantically. "No! I'm sorry! A thousand pardons!"

"Ew," Shinji said again, staring at his sneakers and reluctantly holding them beneath the shower head, rinsing them off. "Takako, you were aiming at me, weren't you? I've decided to take this personally."

"I already said I was sorry," Takako said defensively, rubbing her arms. She had managed to tie her top back on, but she was still only wearing a sleeveless top and a short pair of shorts, therefore she was freezing her ass off.

"You know, Takako, it gets kind of cold in the middle of December," Shuuya told her, noticing how cold she looked, "perhaps your parents could buy you a parka, or a nice pair of pants…"

Takako glared at him and shot him the finger.

Shinji laughed. "I think she's feeling better, Shu."

"Better hope Yukie doesn't go in her room and find out Takako threw up," Shuuya said, with a light chuckle. "She'll think Takako's pregnant or something…"

"SHUT UP! Don't say that, the bathroom's probably wired," Shinji ordered, looking around in alarm as if he expected to see a microphone appear under his nose. "Alright, we are out of here like _now_—"

"But I wanna say bye to Noriko," Shuuya whined.

"Make it fast, and while you're at it, tell Sugi NOTHING, I don't want him knowing Takako got drunk or he's going to take it out on my face," Shinji ordered, "Same goes for Yoshi and Yutaka, I'll tell them what happened later!" Shuuya nodded and ran out of the bathroom quickly.

"Sugi already left, he wanted to walk Kayoko home," Takako piped up, and Shinji let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, no," Takako moaned, and slipping off the toilet she was sitting on, she leaned over to throw up again, pulling the lid up as she did. This time she was able to keep it in the toilet with a messy splash. She groaned and sat down on the floor, slumped over.

"C'mon, get off the floor," Shinji said, as he held his hand out to her, but Takako shook her head.

"No, I don't wanna move," Takako said, letting her forehead rest on top of her bent knees.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Shinji agreed, sitting on the bathtub edge next to her. "Wouldn't want you to projectile vomit or anything."

"Eww," Takako muttered. She felt his hand start to rub her back. She looked up quickly. "Wh-what're you doing?" she asked.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Shinji asked sarcastically.

"I think you're rubbing my back."

"Yep."

"What for?"

Shinji sighed in exasperation. "I'm trying to be nice here, okay? I feel guilty enough as it is. It's bad enough you're wasted, but pretty soon there's going to be pictures of us making out everywhere. You weren't thinking straight and I wasn't thinking at all." There was a moment of silence. "Besides, my mom used to do this to me when I was sick. I figured it might help."

They sat there in silence as Shinji continued to rub her back; his fingers digging into her shoulder blades, every so often squeezing her shoulders. The pressure felt good; it was taking her mind off the dull ache in her head.

"You still cold?" Shinji asked.

"No," Takako said, clearly lying.

"Here," Shinji told her, putting his jacket on her shoulders, "you can have this."

Takako made to protest, but the warm jacket slid over her cold shoulders, and she smiled. "Thanks," she said softly. "Hey… Mimura? Why can't it always be like this with us?"

"What?" Shinji asked, looking at her.

"Why can't we always be like this?" Takako repeated, her gaze holding his.

Shinji paused before responding as he let the weight of her words rest heavily in his mind. He gave her back a few more rubs before dropping his hand onto his boxer-covered lap. "I… don't know. I mean… well… you don't have any interest in taking things any further than they are now. Why would I?"

"What makes you think I don't?" Takako asked.

Shuuya came back in before Shinji could say anything back to her, looking annoyed and disappointed.

"I couldn't find Noriko, or Sugi," Shuuya grumbled, "but Yukie found me, and she kissed me, man! That's zero for two!" He was obviously referring to the time Takako kissed him, neither of his two kisses in his life being from the girl he wanted them to be from (Noriko, of course).

"So?" Shinji said, annoyed at the interruption. "Having girls kiss you is a good thing, Shu."

"Wasn't bad, actually," Shuuya commented. His eyes widened. "I didn't just say that, did I? She probably heard me! There's probably a camera in here somewhere!"

"If there was a camera in here, Yukie would've broken the door down already." Shinji rolled his eyes. "Look, we should get her home before she pukes again."

"Get your damn pants on then, and we can sneak out the back door," Shuuya said, and opened the door.

* * *

"That's my house," Takako said, gesturing to her house up ahead. Shinji and Shuuya exchanged glances—they both knew where Takako lived, having followed Hiroki here once in chapter 3—but she didn't notice anything suspicious.

"Good riddance, it's below fucking zero out here," Shuuya muttered, and Takako fished her keys out of her bag, unlocking the door.

"I'm never touching alcohol again," she groaned, rubbing her head. "Ugh… thanks, Mimura, but don't think this changes anything."

"I wouldn't expect it to," Shinji said with a smirk, and Shuuya sighed, all hopes of this stupid fight ending going out the window.

"Hang around on my porch as long as you want, but I'm going to bed," Takako yawned, and shut the door.

"What an ungrateful pain in the ass," Shuuya scowled, "we go out of our way to bring her drunk ass home when it's windy and freezing cold and she slams the door in our face!"

"What'd you expect her to do, ask us to spend the night?" Shinji asked, feeling a chill as the wind blew. "Dammit, she kept my jacket, didn't she?"

"Yup," Shuuya confirmed. "Oh, man… seeing her puke like that's making MY stomach churn…"

* * *

Yuck. Even writing about throwing up makes me want to barf.

Anyway, does this chapter mean a peace treaty is about to go into effect? Will our two squabbling idiots stop being idiots?

Oh, and for the record, I was doing this story WAY before Gossip Girl started its stupid "Chuck and Blair are in a feud trying to ruin each other's lives but not really because they're in love with each other" crap. So if anything, they're stealing MY ideas! X(

While we're on the subject of stupid creators making spinoffs and sequels before they're done with the original project, let me announce— I'm planning on doing a sequel after I'm done with this story. It won't be about Shinji and Takako, instead it'll be about Shuuya! Of course everyone else will be around.

This story is nowhere near its last legs, so it'll be around for a while. A sequel is just insurance that I'll have something to do once I'm done here.

As always, review, say whatever you want, blah blah blah. :)


	16. You, Mii, and Hirokii's Wii

Chapter 16! Kind of a short one this time around.

* * *

After hearing about the events they missed at Yukie's party, Yoshi and Yutaka were both starting to agree with Shuuya in thinking Shinji was falling hard for Takako, although he sure as hell wouldn't admit to it. In any case, they tried to keep his mind off Takako as much as they could, for they did not wish to spend their winter vacation digging another stupid pit.

Of course, Shinji wasn't so easily distracted, much to his friends' dismay. He usually spent most conversations zoning out and perking up whenever he thought he heard the name Takako (which was often; Shuuya had never noticed just how many words sounded like 'Takako' until recently).

Shuuya was disgusted to admit that the pretty, evil sprinter hadn't just become Shinji's primary reason to live; she was theirs, too. (And they didn't even get to make out with her!)

Without the responsibility of finding ways to annoy the hell out of her, they really had nothing to do; they'd spent the last six months trying to come up with ways to drive her crazy, and hadn't time to do anything else. Now that they were facing all this free time, well… how to fill it?

"Maaaan," Shuuya complained one day, "this is so boring. Wanna go to the arcade?"

The other boys agreed, and they went off to the arcade. They hadn't been there for five minutes before Shinji compared Kasumi from Dead or Alive to Takako; Shuuya dragged him over to Soul Calibur, trying to distract him, but Shinji changed his mind and decided Sophitia looked more like Takako instead.

Personally, Shuuya thought Takako quite resembled _Nightmare_, but that might just be his natural bias.

His characteristic optimism starting to wane, Shuuya eventually gave up, playing Zombie House with Yutaka instead. They were able to pursuade Shinji into getting more tokens and some sodas, giving them a five minute break from Takako discussion.

"He's officially lost his mind," Yoshi said. "We should buy a video camera, we've got enough blackmail material here for the next ten years."

"Can't talk, shooting zombies," Shuuya said.

"I'm back," Shinji said, dumping a pile of tokens on the counter. "I don't know what's wrong with me, guys, I can't stop thinking about Takako."

"_We've noticed_," Yoshi, Shuuya, and Yutaka said in a dull unison.

"Honestly, Mim, I think you're in love with her," Shuuya said in disbelief.

"Not true. I am not. I don't even like her," Shinji answered coolly, but his friends clearly weren't buying it.

"YAH-HAH!" Shuuya cheered, shooting a particularly menacing zombie through the middle of his chest, blowing his rotten intestines out. "Zombie, I hereby name you 'Takako'!"

"Takako? Where?" Shinji asked, looking around.

Yutaka held the fake pistol to his head and clicked the trigger repeatedly.

"It feels like we're still in school," Yoshi complained.

* * *

"Hey, guess what?" Shuuya asked. It was the last day of break and both Shinji and Shuuya were bored out of their minds.

"I don't care," Shinji said with a groan. "Why didn't Yoshi feel like coming again?"

"Ah, Ms. Ryoko needed help taking down the Christmas decorations. Need I say more," Shuuya rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, Sugimura got a Wii!"

"How'd you know that? He's not talking to us," Shinji asked, tossing a tennis ball against the wall and catching it.

"When I was walking over here I saw the box in his trash pile outside," Shuuya said, looking pleased with his discovery.

"Yeah, that's not weird or anything," Shinji rolled his eyes. "What about it?"

"Let's go to his place, see if he's home," Shuuya said. "What, we can't talk to Sugimura anymore?"

"Don't give me that 'holding hands and singing around the campfire' crap, you just want to play the Wii," Shinji said. "Ah, what the hell, we don't have anything better to do… let's go pay our favorite martial artist slash _traitor_ a Yuletide visit." He chucked the ball and it bounced off the wall, hitting him in the head.

* * *

"Hey Sugi!" Takako shouted, knocking on the door. "You planning on letting me in? It's cold out here!"

Hiroki opened the door quickly, ushering Takako inside, and shutting the door, trying to keep the cold air out. "Yeah, sorry, I was fumbling with this stupid thing," he apologized. "I've got Wii Sports up in my room, you mind getting it while I finish setting up?" He gestured to the Wii on the living room table.

"Yeah, no problem," Takako said, tossing her bag onto the couch and shrugging off her jacket.

Hiroki recognized it instantly. "Why d'you have THAT?" he asked, eying Shinji's letter jacket suspiciously.

Takako shrugged, looking confused. "I… don't remember. I think I stole it at Yukie's party to piss Mimura off."

"But why are you wearing it NOW?" Hiroki asked suspiciously. "You have other jackets!"

"I couldn't find any!" Takako said defensively. Seeing Hiroki still giving her the I DON'T BELIEVE YOU eye, she quickly ducked out of the room and headed upstairs.

Since she and Hiroki had been best friends for as long as she could remember, they had been to each other's houses countless times. They usually did a once-a-week video game day, which they'd been doing since they were kids. She might be a babe, but Takako could appreciate the fun of video games and arcades.

Hiroki glanced over at the fireplace; his dad had made a fire this morning, but it had pretty much died down by now. Stupid cold weather. The Christmas tree was set up in front of the window towards the street, and Hiroki noticed Shuuya and Shinji walking by outside.

Figuring— no, assuming by default— that they were up to something, he ducked behind the tree to watch them, but was quickly noticed by Shinji, who pointed.

Hiroki ducked, hoping it wasn't too late.

It was.

Shinji and Shuuya approached the door, knocking loudly. "Hey, Sugi! We know you're home!" Shuuya yelled. "We just saw you!"

"He was watching us, dumbass, he knows we saw him—"

"Go away!" Hiroki said desperately, knowing Takako was upstairs and if she saw Shinji and Shuuya here, she'd think he invited them over as some kind of setup, and as a result kill them all. "Get out of here, I've got company!"

"Company like who, your cat? There's no cars in the driveway!" Shuuya complained. "C'mon, we know you got a Wii, we saw the box in the trash! We come in peace, let us in for old times' sake!"

"This is stupid, he's not going to let us in," Shinji grumbled.

"You're right! Now go away! Please," Hiroki added as an afterthought, leaning his full weight against the door (apparently in fear Shuuya and Shinji would try to break it down).

"Hirokiiiii, I can't find it," Takako called from upstairs.

SHIT. "Uh, keep looking, it's up there somewhere," Hiroki answered back, hoping he didn't sound too terrified.

"Who're you yelling to?" Shinji asked suspiciously. "Let us in, it's freezing out here!"

"Yeah, we're gonna get pneumonia!" Shuuya whined. "We're freezing our balls off out here!"

"Speak for yourself, dumbass who can't read a weather report. I wore pants." Shinji grinned.

Shuuya apparently hit him. "Don't call me a dumbass, jackass! OW! HEY! You can't hit me!"

"That's funny, I think I just did! Oh, look, I'm doing it again!"

"OW! God dammit—"

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Hiroki shouted, finally losing his patience and flinging the door open, apparently scaring Shuuya and Shinji, who jumped and clung to each other in terror (they thought Hiroki was going to attack). "COME IN!"

"OK, OK! You don't have to yell, Su—WHOA!" Shuuya said, jumping in excitement when he saw the Wii. "Holy crap! Look how awesome it is!"

"What games you have for it?" Shinji asked.

"Just Wii Sports, it came with the console," Hiroki muttered, waiting for the inevitable.

"Where is it?" Shuuya asked, turning the Wii on. "Oooo, look, you can make a Mii! AWESOME!"

While Shuuya was distracted with the Mii's, Shinji noticed the bag on the couch. "Heyyyy, nice purse, Sugi," he smirked, and Hiroki's eyes widened in horror, realizing Takako left her stuff out in plain view.

"It's not mine," he explained hurriedly, then thought for a second. "It's—my mom's," he finished lamely.

"Uh huh. Wouldn't your mom have brought her purse with her when she went out?" Shinji asked with a grin.

Hiroki blushed. "Umm—"

"Well, what you choose to carry your makeup in is your business, not mine," Shinji relented, then jumped up and grabbed the black jacket lying next to the bag. "Hey, this is _my_ jacket! How the hell did it get—"

"Fouuuuuund it," Takako sang from upstairs, coming downstairs loudly.

Shinji's head shot up instantly and he glared at Hiroki, who shrugged. "What's _she_ doing here!" he demanded.

"Are you kidding? She's my best friend, remember? She came over to play the Wii," Hiroki said, making a face. "And now, thanks to you guys, she's going to kill us all!"

Takako came into view, saw Shinji, and her trademark scowl appeared. "Oh, great," she grumbled. "What the hell are _they_ doing here?"

"Excuse me," Shuuya interrupted, "we're sitting right here, and we're not deaf. Please greet us politely, unless you'd rather we remind everyone in school how we escorted your drunk ass home the other night."

"What was that?" Hiroki asked curiously.

Takako ignored them. "This better not be a setup, Sugi, or I'm gonna—"

"We came to play Wii, we didn't even know you'd be here," Shuuya told her. "Temporary cease fire, Takako!"

Shinji hadn't seen Takako since the day she'd thrown up on his lap, and was unsure if she remembered the events of Yukie's party, seeing as how she was drunk when it happened. Well, he sure as hell wasn't going to ASK her…

"Move it," she snapped at Shinji, shoving him aside and sitting down where he was sitting. "Hurry up, Shuuya."

Yeah, she was back to her old self…

* * *

"OW!" Shinji yelled angrily, rubbing the side of his head. "Would you kindly watch where you're aiming!"

"I think she _is_ watching where she's aiming," Shuuya said dryly.

Takako had, for the third time, swung the Wiimote meaning to hit the baseball, and instead "accidentally" letting the thing go, causing it to fling behind her and coincidentally hit Shinji upside his head. Shinji was willing to overlook the first time, but by now he could tell she was aiming.

Hiroki was not pleased. "You're gonna break it, Taka, wear the damn wrist strap," he grumbled.

"No. I've got too many bracelets on, it won't fit," Takako said firmly, turning back towards the screen.

Shinji rubbed his head, his only distraction from his head pain being the front row view of Takako's ass. She wasn't dressed up to her usual standards today, wearing a pair of denim cutoffs and a cross country event t-shirt she'd probably bought from one of her races, with her hair up in a ponytail, but she still looked hot.

The remote went flying again when Takako swung, this time nearly decapitating Shuuya (who yelped and ducked). Hiroki was starting to get frustrated; if Takako wanted to kill Shinji so badly, he'd appreciate it if she left his expensive video game system out of it.

"Alright, you've hogged it enough, hand it over," Shinji grumbled, jumping up and picking the Wiimote up from the ground.

"Hey, no fair! I wasn't done!" Takako complained, trying to wrench the Wiimote from Shinji's hand.

"Leggo!" Shinji snapped, tugging his hand free from Takako's. "I said get off me, I'm not—SHIT!"

Takako's hand pulled on Shinji's so hard his arm jerked; the Wiimote flew from his hand and landed on the floor. Hiroki's eyes widened in horror and he dove towards the remote on the ground.

"Nice going, dumbass," Takako said, "You broke it!"

Shinji was outraged. "Me? ME! How the hell is this MY fault!"

Getting an idea, Hiroki picked up the Wiimote. "Oh, you've both done it this time," he sighed, pretending to examine it. "It's busted."

Takako's eyes widened. "Sugi, I'm so sorry, me and this _idiot_ can buy you another—"

"By "me and this idiot" I would hope you mean yourself and your imaginary friend," Shinji interrupted, "because I had NOTHING to do with this—"

"No need, there's one upstairs," Hiroki told her. "Why don't you two go find it, it's in my desk drawer—I think," he said thoughtfully.

"I can get it myself—" Takako protested, eying Shinji.

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Nobody's around, don't flatter yourself, babe. Where'd you say it was, Sugi?"

"Upstairs, in my desk drawer," Hiroki said, looking annoyed. "Hurry up, would you?"

Shinji and Takako headed upstairs, their bickering loud enough to be heard from the living room.

Shuuya rolled his eyes. "I swear to God, we should just lock them in a closet or something so they can just—Hey, this thing still works!" he yelled, as blue lights flashed from the Wiimote.

Hiroki smirked evilly. "Give me a sec." He darted upstairs after Takako and Shinji.

* * *

And that's all for this chapter! :)

This one's a shorty but I need to drag the story out longer. XD

Also, I purposely break the BR rules a bit and write Yoshi and Yutaka far, far away. They're good when Shinji and Shuuya need backup or whatever, but otherwise, they're kind of boring. D:


	17. Bull Poopy

Alrighty, chapter 17 away. I think this is the most commitment I've given a story in a good long time :D

This chapter is kind of long (11 pages) but it's mostly dialogue. And it's all good. :D

* * *

"I don't know what he's on," Takako muttered, leaning over to dig through Hiroki's desk drawer, "but there's no damn Wiimote in here—"

"Uh huh," Shinji said, distracted by the view of Takako's ass once more.

"Oh fuck it," she growled.

"Okay," Shinji said, still looking at her ass.

Takako didn't hear him. "This is all your fault, you should have to pay for the new one—"

Shinji noticed Hiroki coming up towards the open door. "Hey, what're you—"

Hiroki pulled the door shut quickly, and judging from the noise Shinji was hearing, it sounded like he and Shuuya were propping something beneath the door handle to prevent their escape.

Takako heard the slam of the door and turned around. "God dammit, Mimura, what d'you think you're—"

Shinji shook his head innocently. "I didn't do anything. THEY did."

Takako's face twisted in rage and she stormed up to the door, beginning to pound on it with her fists. "HEY! Unlock this damn door, Sugi, or I'll break it down! Don't think I won't!" she shouted, enraged. She glared over at Shinji, who had already given up on freedom and made himself comfortable on Hiroki's bed.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Takako demanded, rearing on Shinji.

Shinji shook his head. "No. They'll let us out eventually. 'Sides, I've got a better idea of what we can do to occupy the time."

Takako made a face. "Ew. I don't even want to know." She studied the window, which was small, but maybe big enough to crawl through. "You think…"

"Bad idea," Shinji told her, reclining on Hiroki's bed. "There's no way you can fit through that window, and even if you could, we're on the second floor, so you'd just fall anyway."

Takako shook her head stubbornly. "You'd be surprised as to what I'll do when I'm desperate, Mimura."

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Don't say I didn't warn you, darlin'. But seriously, is jumping out of the window a better alternative than just sticking around? I'm not going to do anything." He thought for a second. "Unless of course you _want_ me to…"

"_I don't_," Takako growled, and crossed the room, pounding on the door. "God DAMMIT, Sugi, let us out of here! I'll buy you another friggen Wiimote!"

"They obviously locked us in here with the purpose of getting rid of us, they're not gonna let us out," Shinji told her. "You know, I—"

Shinji was interrupted by Takako crossing the room back to the window, raising her fist, and punching the window as hard as she could. The window was cracked, and Takako's fist was stuck in the glass.

"OW!" Takako cried angrily, her face scrunched up in pain.

"How stupid are you!" Shinji asked incredulously, getting up and walking over to Takako, who was clearly in pain. "You couldn't have used a chair? Or anything else besides your hand? Next time try headbutting it, it's more effective than—"

"Up yours!" Takako snapped, gritting her teeth. With her other hand she furiously tapped the remaining glass with the side of her fist, trying to shatter the pieces imprisoning her hand. The glass cracked and she pulled her bleeding fist out.

"Ow," she finally said, closing her eyes and turning away from him. Shinji rolled his eyes and glanced at the busted window.

"Was I right or was I right? There's no way anything could fit through that," Shinji said, gesturing at her cut hand. "Hand."

"I'm fine," Takako said, folding her arms and yelping in pain. She reluctantly extended her hurt hand to Shinji, who took it and removed a larger piece of glass from a cut.

"Sugi keeps a first aid kit under his bed," Takako muttered, annoyed and embarrassed.

Shinji rolled his eyes and ducked under the bed, finding a large box with a red plus sign on it. "Only Sugimura would have a first aid kit under his bed," he said, shaking his head. He opened the box, took Takako's bleeding hand again and wiped some disinfectant on it.

Takako flinched but didn't say anything. Shinji, not surprised, wrapped a bandage around her hand and taped it down securely with medical tape. "Not the best field dressing in the world, but it'll do," he said, smirking at her. "I'm waiting for my thank you."

"Fine. Thanks," Takako grumbled, sinking back down into a chair across from him. Seeing Shinji still smirking at her expectantly, she threw her hands up in annoyance. "What do you want now!"

"Nothing you haven't done before. I'm bored. Wanna make out?" Shinji suggested.

"No, I don't!" Takako said, scowling. "Besides, why would we? Like you said, nobody's around to see, it's not like we're actually dating. Or whatever the crap going around school is."

"So?" Shinji asked nonchalantly. "That's the point, nobody's in here but us. Nobody would know 'cept us, no Yukie with her radar going off like last time."

Takako shook her head. "I'm not really in the mood."

"Suit yourself," Shinji said, although obviously disappointed. "So… how's it going?"

"How's it going?" Takako repeated incredulously. Shinji shrugged again and she sighed. "It's going alright, I guess. Aside from the fact that I'm being held prisoner and my hand's hurting like a mother, of course. Am I that boring?"

"Huh? No," Shinji said. "I've no idea of what to say to you, though. Half the time we're together we're either arguing or—"

"Making out," Takako finished. "For two people who've been hypothetically screwing for the last year and a half, you'd think we'd know each other better, wouldn't you?" she added sarcastically.

"Not necessarily," Shinji said, laughing. "I doubt people think we're doing that much talking when we're together as it is."

Takako smirked. "Doesn't help much that Yukie and her gossip radar've been tuned into us ever since this started, anyway. How did this start?"

"I don't even remember," Shinji lied. "I was sitting in class one day when Yutaka comes running up to me and tells me you and me are dating."

"Same here," Takako said, "although it wasn't Yutaka, it was that parasite Niida, you know who I'm talking about. Anyway, he comes up to me and starts bitching about how you're half the man he is—" Shinji interrupted with a laugh—"and I'm wasting my time on you, you know the drill. I asked him what the hell he's going on about, and he says he heard we were dating."

"Niida? Gross. He hot for you?" Shinji asked, although pretty sure the answer was yes. Niida was a big fan of girls who were curvy, beautiful, and completely out of his league, and Takako fit the bill perfectly.

"_Unfortunately_, as he reminds me every time I run into him," Takako made a face. "Disgusting. If he thinks he's got any chance with me at all he's abusing some kind of illegal narcotic."

Shinji shrugged. "Well you are hot. Most guys like hot girls, can't blame him." Seeing the look Takako was giving him, he shook his head. "I'm not saying he's not disgusting. I'm just pointing out that you're beautiful and that's something guys go for."

Takako stared at him. "What'd you just say?" she asked.

Realizing what came out of his big mouth, Shinji mentally smacked himself. "I said you're beautiful," he said, "and that's not a word I often use, so enjoy it!"

Takako, for some reason, looked embarrassed. "Well, thanks," she muttered, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Y'know, you're the last guy in the universe I'd expect a compliment like that from."

"Why not?" Shinji asked. "I think you're beautiful, so I told you. No big deal."

"You don't like girls much, do you?" Takako asked.

"Huh?" Shinji asked, not expecting that.

"I don't mean you're gay or anything. But, well…" Takako rolled her eyes. "There's really no polite way to put this. People, girls especially, are always bitching about how so-and-so scored with you and so-and-so didn't… to be blunt, as far as half the school's concerned you're basically a playboy. That's why people've found it so shocking that we've been 'dating' instead of just sleeping together."

"Yeah, I get what you're saying," Shinji said. "I've never had a girlfriend before, cause there's never been a girl I cared about enough to have anything beyond physical stuff. It's been a while since I've bothered with any of those whiny tramps anyway… I've been a little occupied with someone else," he said, glancing at her. Which was true. Ever since the business with Takako started, he hadn't so much looked at another girl.

"Someone else, huh? So you've been cheating on me?" Takako grinned. Seeing the shocked look on Shinji's face she laughed. "You should see the look on your face, you're almost as bad as Sugimura is!"

Shinji grinned. "Ouch." He glanced at the locked door and back at her.

* * *

"I'm bored," Takako complained.

"Join the club," Shinji said, kicking back on Hiroki's bed. "C'mon, let's make out. We're among friends, it won't leave this house even if they catch us."

"I already said no," Takako said, irritated. "Stop pestering me."

"Well they're not going to let us out of here until god-knows-when, we might as well do something," Shinji said, shrugging.

"Like what? There's nothing to do in here, unless you like reading about martial arts and cats," Takako said, making a face as she looked at the books in Hiroki's bookshelf.

"Hey, here's something," Shinji said, finding a deck of cards lying on the desk. "Let's play cards. What do you know how to play? Anything fun?"

Takako shrugged. "Depends on what the fun games are. I can play the basics… Go Fish, Blackjack, BS, that sort of thing."

"Too bad, we could've played strip poker," Shinji grinned at her, and she glared back. "I'm kidding. Go Fish is lame and I forgot how to play Blackjack. Let's play BS!"

"Isn't that ironic," Takako shook her head, "alright, fine. But BS is no fun with two people. It's way too obvious."

"Then in that case, we do this," Shinji said, halving the deck and putting one half of cards to the side of Hiroki's bed. "That way we don't know what cards are in here."

"Good idea," Takako said, "I've never thought of doing that…"

"You'd be surprised at what a genius I am," Shinji smirked. "How about we make the game more interesting?"

"Oh, geez," Takako said, with a groan, "Fine, let's hear it. But I'm not committing to anything!"

"Okay. How about… if I catch you BS'ing, or if you call a BS on me when I'm telling the truth, I get to kiss you," Shinji said with a grin.

Takako didn't look surprised. "Okay then… but if I catch YOU BS'ing, or if you call a BS on ME when I'M telling the truth, I get immunity. Meaning, if I catch you BS'ing, and you catch me BS'ing, I have my immunity stocked up, so you can't kiss me."

Shinji made a face. "Take all the fun out of it, why don't you."

Takako beamed. "I try."

"FINE. I beat Shuuya at BS all the time, so don't expect to get much immunity," Shinji said, beginning to deal out the cards.

"Uh huh. Do you guys play with the same rules?" Takako grinned.

Shinji glared at her. "Very funny."

"OK, you dealt, so I get to go first," Takako said, picking up her deck, "One ace."

Shinji suspiciously shuffled through all his cards, trying to catch her in a lie. Nope.

Well, she sure as hell wasn't going to get any immunity on him, that was for sure. All Shinji had to do was not get caught lying (a skill he recently discovered he was very, _very_ bad at) and they'd remain on equal grounds.

Shit. He didn't have a damn two anywhere, which either meant Takako or the unused half of cards had the two's. SHIT.

Well maybe if I'm lucky she won't have any two's either and they wound up in the other pile…

"One two," Shinji said, putting down a four.

"BS," Takako said immediately, flipping the card over, "HA!"

"SHIT," Shinji said, collecting the two cards. "You have four twos!"

"No, it's my natural instinct not to believe a word out of your mouth," Takako grinned.

Shinji made a face. It was going to be a long game. "Well it's not over yet. Your turn."

"Four threes," Takako said.

"BS!" Shinji shouted, flipping over the deck, "SHIT! How'd you get all FOUR threes!"

"Hell if I know, you dealt the cards!" Takako said with a smile. "That's two immunities for me!"

SHIT SHIT SHIT. "It's still not over yet," Shinji said sourly, adding the currently played cards to his own accumulating pile. He shuffled through his cards. "HEY! You lied earlier about the ace!" he yelled.

Takako smirked. "Why yes, yes I did. Too bad you can't do anything about it now!"

Shinji shuffled through his cards again. FINALLY. "One four," he grumbled.

He eyed Takako suspiciously. "Three fives," she said, placing the cards down.

"You're not gonna call my BS?" Shinji asked, shocked.

"Of course not. I trust you," Takako told him, smirking.

Shinji narrowed his eyes. "Two sixes," he scowled.

Three two one. "BS," said Takako, flipping the cards over to reveal a six and another six. "WHAT THE HELL?" she cried. "I've got three sixes—oh, shit, those are nines! FUCK!"

"HA! Down one immunity for you!" Shinji told her with a grin.

Takako made a face. "Two sevens," she muttered.

Shinji had a seven himself, but since he didn't want her to get another immunity, he decided to play it safe for once. "Four eights."

"Three nines," Takako said, playing her nines.

* * *

Shinji was starting to get bored now. Takako was playing it VERY safe, or she was a good liar (which Shinji knew to be true). Either way, she clearly didn't want to lose her last immunity.

Shinji was tempted for the eighth time to just forget the card game and kiss her anyway, but he wanted to beat her into the ground once and for all.

"Three kings," Takako said.

Shinji shuffled through his cards and made to pick out an Ace, before shuffling right over two Kings. It took a second for his mind to put two and two together.

"You are so full of BS," he declared triumphantly, flipping the cards over. Sure enough, they weren't Kings, which meant Takako's last immunity was down the toilet.

"Shit," Takako whined, taking the deck and adding it to her card pile, "I've been doing that all game, why did you start to notice now?"

Dammit. She's been tricking me this whole time, Shinji thought, annoyed. "One more screwup and I get to kiss you," he told her with a grin, "sure you don't just want to give up now and accept defeat honorably?"

"Over my dead body," Takako said firmly. "Your turn."

"Right. You've got the whole deck now, so this shouldn't be hard to settle," Shinji said, picking the Ace out again. "One Ace."

"Four twos," Takako said with a groan.

"Four threes," Shinji said, happy to get rid of those damn things. "Hey, did we ever settle on what we get when we win?"

"I don't remember, did we?" Takako asked. "Two fours."

"One five. How about loser buys the winner food?" Shinji suggested.

"This is some crazy twisted idea for you to get me alone, isn't it?" Takako demanded suspiciously. "Three sixes."

Shinji thought for a second. "Two sevens. Actually, that didn't even cross my mind, but now I'm definitely going to find a way to kick your ass."

"One eight. And go to hell, I'm not losing to YOU," Takako said, smirking smugly at him.

Shinji rolled his eyes, shuffling through his cards for the nines. "I don't like the way you say YOU. And you keep smirking at me like that, babe, and I'm not going to be responsible for my actions. Two n—" He realized he just shuffled over four eights. Takako claimed to put down one.

"BS!" Shinji shouted, "HA!"

Takako's mouth dropped open. "That doesn't count! You almost put the nines down, you even said it!"

"So? I didn't put them down yet!" Shinji said, "And you're out of immunity or whatever, aren't you?"

Takako folded her arms. "I don't care! I'm not kissing you!"

Shinji was outraged. "That's not fair. You agreed! You can't go back on your word!"

"All's fair in love and war," Takako replied, bearing a smile which dripped with evil.

"I'll show you what's fair," Shinji told her, tossing his cards aside and grabbing her, his lips finding hers.

* * *

"They've been oddly quiet," Hiroki said, suspiciously pausing the Wii and glancing upstairs. "You think we should see if they're up to something? Normally we'd have heard yelling…"

"Takako probably strangled Mim to death twenty minutes ago, that's why they're quiet," Shuuya said. "You just want to stop me from kicking your ass."

"Do you hear something?" Hiroki asked.

"No. You're just being paranoid. C'mon, nobody's up there with them, it's not like they've got a crowd to work, Mim won't have a reason to try and talk her out of her panties." Shuuya stopped. This WAS Shinji he was talking about. "Alright, let's go check on them."

They were about halfway up the stairs. "Wait," Hiroki said suddenly. "What if they're, uh…"

"No way," Shuuya said, thoughtfully. "Wait… would they? Actually… I know Mim would, but would Takako? You know her better."

"Would they what? I don't know what you're talking about!" Hiroki asked, looking frightened.

"Uh, maybe we should leave them alone," Shuuya finally said.

Hiroki's eyes widened in horrific comprehension. "Uh uh. Not in my room!" he protested.

Much to Hiroki and Shuuya's disgust and horror, there wasn't any sounds at ALL coming from that room. It was completely quiet. Then someone on the opposite side of the door moaned. It was faint, but Hiroki was alarmed all the same, his eyes widening as he sprinted the rest of the way up the stairs.

"NO! Sugi don't!" Shuuya shouted, diving in front of the door before Hiroki could wrench it open. "You'll be scarred for life!"

"Why SHOULDN'T I? Those horny idiots are having sex on my bed!" Hiroki cried, disgusted. "Listen to that!"

"I know, they're animals. I thought the point of this was to get them to screw already because it might stop the madness," Shuuya said, shaking his head. "Sounds like Mim needs to polish his technique a bit, sounds like he's murdering her in there—"

"Stop it!" Hiroki ordered, pounding on the door loudly. "You two have ten seconds to detach before I open this door as violently as possible, and I can't guarantee any survivors!"

* * *

Shinji came up for air briefly, annoyed by the thought that he was hearing something. Maybe Hiroki and Shuuya were at the door…? Before he could say anything, Takako kissed him again, and he promptly lost his train of thought.

* * *

"Alright, that does it," Hiroki groaned, and opened the door, both he and Shuuya covering their eyes in fear for the worst.

Shinji and Takako, however, didn't seem to notice they now had an audience. Although Shinji's hands were still on her waist, running up and down her back chastely, Takako's hands had worked Shinji's shirt clean off his body and was running across his bare chest and back freely, tracing his muscles as she did. Shinji was trying to keep himself under control, very much aware of the throbbing in his pants but not about to stop Takako's rampage.

Takako pulled away from him again, breathlessly; Shinji couldn't help but smile smugly at how disheveled she looked, her cheeks flushed and her hair thoroughly messed up, half of it hanging out of its ponytail. He kissed her again, his fingers brushing her hair away from her face. Takako slid her arms around Shinji's waist and pulled him closer, so close she leaned back too far and he fell on top of her.

When they pulled back from their kiss, Shinji grinned at her and leaned down to kiss her again, before realizing Shuuya and Hiroki were staring at him in horror and disgust.

Looking at himself, half-naked with Takako underneath him, Shinji could understand why they looked so appalled. Takako, looking annoyed because Shinji hadn't kissed her yet, leaned forward to catch his lips with hers, saw what he was looking at, and promptly screamed.

"Uhh…" Shinji said, his brain still fuzzy from his recent Takako expedition.

"What're you two DOING to my BED?" Hiroki wailed. "I sleep there!"

Realizing they got a bit carried away, Shinji sat back, looking around for his shirt, which Takako had apparently flung across the room. Shuuya wordlessly pointed to Shinji's shirt lying on the other side of the room, hanging on Hiroki's computer monitor. Shinji got up and grabbed his shirt, embarrassed but remaining defiant in front of his friends.

"You mind? We're busy in here," Shinji grumbled, pulling his shirt over his head and glancing over at Takako. Although she was still fully dressed, she looked like she wanted to jump out of the window.

"We didn't do anything," Takako muttered, getting up and retying her ponytail, looking beyond embarrassed. "Well, nothing we haven't done before."

"Seriously, if we did something you'd know, Takako wouldn't be able to stand," Shinji laughed. Takako scowled and punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

Hiroki was still looking disgusted, and Shuuya didn't seem too surprised. "Are you really that shocked?" he asked Hiroki blankly. "You're the one who left them in a room _alone_. It was only a matter of time."

"We figured if we made enough noise you two would open the door and let us out," Takako said, obviously lying. She tapped Shinji's shoulder. "Uh, hello? We're free?"

"Oh. Oh, right," Shinji said, catching on quickly. Shuuya was still eying him suspiciously, and Hiroki was still too horrified to do much else.

"What happened to my window!" Hiroki cried.

"Takako broke it," Shinji explained, laughing. "We got a little crazy in here…"

"Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself," Hiroki complained. "My parents are going to kill me! They're not going to believe Takako did it!"

"Well, that's more your problem than it is ours," Takako told him. "That'll make you think twice before you lock US in a room alone…"

"At least it wasn't anything else," Shuuya said, trying to remain optimistic. "From what it sounded like out there, it sounded like—"

"Don't finish that sentence, Shuuya," Hiroki whined. "Just get out, all three of you. I need a nap."

"No fair! I didn't get to finish kicking your ass, Sugi," Shuuya whined, miming Wii bowling.

Takako grabbed Shinji's arm and nearly pulled him out of the room, and they headed downstairs, laughing. "Did you see the look on Shuuya's face?" she laughed, grabbing her bag off the chair in the living room.

"Forget Shuuya, you see Sugimura!" Shinji grinned. "Damn. Y'know, we make a pretty good team," he told her.

Takako shrugged. "Ah, well, y'know," she said, glancing behind her, tugging Shinji's jacket on again. "Sugi's kind of a pushover anyway…"

"Uh huh. Well I think we freaked him out," Shinji said, walking out of Hiroki's house, following Takako. "You planning on giving me back my jacket anytime soon?"

Takako looked confused. "Giving you your jacket BACK?"

"Yeah. Yukie's party? You were freezing your ass off?" Shinji asked. "Ring any bells?"

Takako still looked completely confused. "Wait, what?" She put her hands on her hips. "Y'know, I don't remember that party at ALL…"

Alright, I'm not gonna tell her what happened if she doesn't remember, Shinji decided. "Just keep it until Monday," he said. Takako looked surprised, but she pulled it back on again. "Hey, Takako… what you said earlier about me's not entirely true," he added.

"Oh really? You mean you're not an arrogant jerk?" Takako asked, although she was smirking.

"No, not that. What I said, about there not being a girl I cared about enough to actually have a relationship with," Shinji continued, watching her reactions carefully. "Well, there is one. I just figured it out recently."

"Yeah? Dare I ask who?" Takako smirked.

"You, dumbass," Shinji told her.

Takako was floored. Holy shit, was that it? Did he just tell her he liked her? She stared at him, but he wasn't wearing that cocky smirk he usually did when they were playing the crowd. Was he serious? Was she BLUSHING?

The word hadn't left Shinji's mouth before he was already regretting saying it. And judging by the look on Takako's face, she believed him, and she didn't much like the idea, either.

Takako ran her hand through her bangs awkwardly, almost unsure of how to respond. Yeah, Shinji was starting to grow on her a little… and she definitely liked kissing him… but if she said she liked him back, would that end the war? Did she actually WANT to be Shinji's girlfriend? She actually hadn't given any thought to the end of their little battle royale… what were they fighting about again? What _was_ the end result going to be?

Shinji was starting to get pissed. It had been at least a minute. If she was going to throw herself into his arms and start making out with him she would've done it a while ago. His mind was already starting to think of a way to preserve his image.

Takako had just opened her mouth to suggest they talk about it over lunch, when Shinji spoke up before she did.

"JUST KIDDING!" Shinji announced triumphantly, that smirk coming back on his face, "HA! You should've seen the look on your face!"

Takako's mouth dropped and before she could rightfully punch Shinji in the face, he was already gone, sprinting away in a mad rush. And she found she didn't have the heart to go chasing after him.

* * *

You didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you? :) Just when you think our idiots are finally reaching a common ground, they go and screw it up. Actually, I considered ending the story here, but I said screw it, I've got way more things to do here. :D


	18. Shinji Loves Takako?

Alrighty, here we go with chapter… whatever! I don't even know anymore lol

I'm pretty sure I mentioned somewhere that swearing doesn't restrict my writing; I mean, the main characters in the BR manga swear like sailors. I don't swear in the narration of the story but in the character dialogue it's fair game.

* * *

Shinji was distinctly aware that someone was yelling his name, but didn't care enough to turn around to see who it was.

"I am a fucking moron" was about the only thing running through Shinji's brain. Like an idiot, he'd slipped and told Takako how he really felt, and her silence was enough of a rejection as it was. So instead of convincing her he really _did_ like her, and he wasn't lying, he shouted "JUST KIDDING!" and completely convinced her he really WAS an asshole.

NOW he felt bad for teasing Yutaka and Hiroki every time a girl turned THEM down... it wasn't as agonizing as people made it out to be, but it sure hurt.

If I hadn't said something, she would have told me to go fuck myself and I'd be standing here with nothing. At least this way she'll be angry and the battle'll keep going. I still have a shot, I did not fuck everything up.

That wasn't cheering him up too much, though. He scowled at the ground.

"Mim, would you wait up? Mim? SHINJI!" Shuuya yelled, using his best friend's first name for once.

Shinji turned around, glaring at him. "Well, hope you're happy," he said, waving his hands for emphasis.

"Happy? Why would I be happy?" Shuuya asked, confused. "What happened?"

"What happened? I'll tell you what happened," Shinji snapped. "For some reason, I took your advice and told Takako I liked her."

"Yeah? How'd she take it?" Shuuya asked eagerly. He didn't notice any visible scars or bruises anywhere, so he assumed it went OK.

"How do you THINK she took it?" Shinji said, sounding disgusted. "She looked at me like I was crazy, and I yelled "JUST KIDDING!" and I ran for it. God, talk about feeling fucking stupid. You should've seen the look on her face, it said go jump in a lake!"

"Mim, calm down," Shuuya sighed, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Look, man, maybe she was just shell-shocked—"

"Yeah, and maybe she wasn't," Shinji said shortly, sitting down on the ground. "What the hell do I do now, man?"

Shuuya groaned and sat down next to him, aware they were sitting on a sewage drain. "Well you did say just kidding… she'll probably just think it was a joke or something, and be back to her normal angry revenge-seeking self tomorrow."

"I guess," Shinji muttered. "Shit. Love sucks."

"I hear you." Shuuya's eyes widened. "Wait, did you say love?"

"Uh, no. No. NO. NO, SHUUYA," Shinji shouted, but Shuuya was still staring at him.

"I don't fucking believe you! You like her, don't you? You REALLY like her!" Shuuya laughed. "HA! Did I call it or what!"

* * *

"He said WHAT?" Hiroki asked incredulously. Shuuya had just left, and he (Hiroki) found Takako standing in the middle of the street looking angrier than he'd ever seen her, if that was possible. He'd been quite afraid to approach her at first, but she snapped out of it and told him what Shinji had said.

"You heard me the first time!" Takako said crossly.

"I'm sorry, it's just—surprising," Hiroki explained, shaking his head.

"Yeah, well, I didn't believe him anyway!" Takako said angrily. She was sitting on the front steps to Hiroki's house, and Hiroki was standing across from her. "I'm going to rip his head off when I get my hands on him. And I am going to enjoy it."

Hiroki bit his lip, hesitant to ask the question he mostly wanted to know the answer to. "Well… what were you gonna do if he really did mean it?" he asked.

Takako looked up at him, and Hiroki expected an angry reaction; but instead, she looked more confused than ever. "I don't know," she answered with a groan. "Half of me wants to believe he meant it, and he was just covering his ass, but the other half… ARRRRRRGH. I mean, he's told the whole SCHOOL he's in love with me, but…" She made a disgusted face. "I sound like such a friggen GIRL."

"Well, that's okay," Hiroki said with a chuckle, sitting down next to her, "you _are_ a girl, Taka."

"I know! And that's what I hate about it! Stupid girl hormones… stupid girly feelings," Takako muttered, wiping her eyes.

"Aw, Takako," Hiroki said, putting his arm around her.

"Get off of me, I'm not crying!" Takako shook his arm off. "I've got something in my eyes!"

"No, you don't," Hiroki told her firmly.

"I can't believe I'm crying over HIM!" Takako muttered, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, which ironically was the sleeve of Shinji's jacket. "I can't even remember the last time I cried! What the hell's the matter with me?"

"I can," Hiroki chuckled, "well, at least, the last time I remember you crying. We were like ten years old; you were trying to run up that big pile of sand, remember? Your foot sunk in the sand and you twisted your ankle when you fell."

"And you were too scared to come up and get me out, so you called the emergency number instead, and the entire fire department came to help me," Takako smiled, rolling her eyes. "Those were the good ol' days."

"Everything was easier back then," Hiroki agreed, putting his arm around Takako again and she groaned. "Stop it, you're upset and this is the least I can do."

"Oh, fine, if you insist," Takako said reluctantly, leaning her head on her best friend's shoulder. "Mimura's such a dick," she said with a sigh.

"Is that why you're in love with him?" Hiroki teased.

Takako punched him in the stomach. "I am NOT in love with him! I don't even like him!" she shouted, more to herself than Hiroki.

"Ow," Hiroki whined, "I give up. You don't even like him."

"Damn straight," Takako said half-heartedly, although she could tell he didn't believe her either.

* * *

"Mim?"

Shinji looked up from staring at the ground. "What?" he asked.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Shuuya suggested.

"I think I've had enough rejections for today," Shinji snapped irritably.

"Shut up and listen to me, man. She might still be at Sugi's place, go see if she's there and tell her you're for real. Maybe she was just shell-shocked like I said, you said you ran, she might've not had time to say anything—"

"Might as well," Shinji muttered, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. "What the hell do I say if she turns me down?"

"I don't know," Shuuya shrugged, and scowled, punching Shinji's shoulder angrily.

"Ow!" Shinji yelled. "What the hell, man?"

"How about having some confidence, eh? What happened to your pride?" Shuuya demanded, putting his hands on his hips. "Grow a spine, why don't you? What, just because you like Takako means you don't have any balls anymore?"

"You look so ridiculous right now I cannot even begin to tell you," Shinji told him.

"Shut up, man! Now you go find that girl and tell her how you feel!" Shuuya ordered. "Go!"

"Fine, fine, I'm going," Shinji groaned. "Geez… coming from the guy who can't ask out _Noriko_—"

"I HEARD THAT!" Shuuya hollered.

* * *

It took Shinji twenty minutes to get back to Hiroki's house, and when he did, he recognized her and Hiroki's voices. He ducked behind the neighbor's fence to listen better to what they were saying, glancing over the side to try and get a glimpse of her.

Takako sure looked upset; she didn't look like a girl who just successfully turned down a jerk who'd been bothering her for the last six months, that was for sure. Shinji considered diving over the fence to talk to her, when Hiroki, who was sitting next to her, put his arm around her shoulders.

Takako made to shrug him off, but he shook his head. "Stop it, you're upset and this is the least I can do," he was saying.

"Oh, fine, if you insist," Takako said reluctantly, leaning her head on Hiroki's shoulder. "Mimura's such a dick," she added.

Shinji was outraged. Sure, he was a smartass, and an asshole, but a DICK? THAT was crossing a line! And stupid Hiroki, making a move on her like that. Hiroki was such a pansy he wouldn't beat up a guy trying to kill him, but now he was here stealing Shinji's woman! HOW DARE HE.

"Is that why you're in love with him?" Hiroki asked mockingly.

Shinji gritted his teeth and his fingernails dug into the palms of his clenched fists so deeply he subconsciously thought he drew blood. Now that stupid wimp mocks me behind my back. I'm going to kill him. (KILL THE MARTIAL ARTS EXPERT? THINK WITH YOUR HEAD, MIMURA!)

To his delight, Takako proceeded to punch Hiroki in the stomach. "I am NOT in love with him! I don't even like him!" she said angrily, and those words alone made it feel like Shinji was on the receiving end of that punch instead of Hiroki.

He wasn't about to stick around and have his heart broken further. He turned around and headed home.

* * *

Shuuya was back at the orphanage, sitting atop the small jungle gym with his guitar in hand, strumming lightly but not paying much attention to what he was playing.

Truth be told, he was worried about Shinji. The two of them had been best friends since junior high school started, and although that wasn't long chronologically, it was nothing compared to all the crap they'd done and been through. And ever since Shuuya had known Shinji, Shinji had taken great pride in never letting anyone know what was going on inside his head, usually remaining his cool-as-a-cucumber smartass self.

If Takako really wasn't interested in him as anything but a target, Shuuya knew it would destroy Shinji's ego and basically lead to an overall meltdown. He would be pissed off and pretty damned upset too.

Shuuya didn't mind cheering his friends up when they were down, but if Takako was as cold-hearted to turn him down after all the crap they'd done over the course of the school year, then she was a bitch and Shuuya would be sure to inform her as much.

Shinji had gone back to Hiroki's house to talk to Takako two hours ago; either Takako had fallen insanely in love with him and they'd gone to one of those casinos in Las Vegas in America to get married, or she'd turned him down, and Shinji had gotten pissed off and isolated himself from the rest of humanity. Those were probably grotesque exaggerations, but either way, Shinji wasn't answering his phone, and Shuuya was starting to get nervous.

At least he'd see him in school tomorrow… with a shudder, Shuuya realized school resumed TOMORROW. Ew…

* * *

I won't delay the next chapter as much as I did this one, I promise! Next chapter will be up tomorrow!


	19. Psychological Warfare

Here's Chapter 19! We're done with the mushy stuff for a while, it's back to the evil planning.

I pick up a previously mentioned plotline here; if you don't remember, go re-read Chapter 13!

* * *

As Shuuya expected, Shinji refused to disclose what happened the previous night, at least in front of Yoshi and Yutaka. He was significantly nastier to Hiroki than usual, and when Yukie told him the proofs were in for the pictures she'd taken of him and Takako at her party, he exploded.

Shuuya wasn't able to get a straight answer from him all day; Shinji either went temporarily deaf until Shuuya changed the subject or ignored him completely, even choosing to do his math homework over talking or eating at lunch, which was a big sign something was definitely wrong. Yutaka and Yoshi were at a loss as to why he wasn't talking, and Shuuya wasn't able to get a moment alone with him until gym class.

Fortunately, it was "free sport" day; so everyone could break off and play whatever sport they wanted. Shinji seized the entire basketball rack before anyone else could get one and wheeled it off towards the far end of the gym ("HEY!" shouted half the class) where one of the hoops were.

Shuuya's optimistic nature was convinced that the more he asked Shinji what was bothering him, his resistance would break down and he would talk. Unfortunately he forgot Shinji was the most stubborn human being he'd ever met in his life, and never gave up on anything.

"Mim, you okay?" Shuuya asked for the tenth time.

"I already told you, I'M FINE," Shinji answered, taking aim at the hoop in front of him and missing for the eighteenth time. "How come you keep asking me that?"

"Because you're MISSING," Shuuya informed him. "You haven't made a single shot!"

"I said I'm fine, Shuuya, give it a damn rest already!" Shinji answered hotly, missing the hoop yet again, the ball bouncing off the back board over his head. "AARRRGH!"

"Mim, if there's something you want to talk about…" Shuuya let the sentence die once he saw the look on his best friend's face. He knew he was feeling a lot more than he was letting on.

"I said, I'm fine," Shinji replied, a trace of annoyance still in his voice. He put the remaining ball back on the ball rack (the other nineteen were scattered across the gym) and slowly put his hand on Shuuya's shoulder, keeping his eyes on the ground. "But… thanks," he muttered.

* * *

Much to Shuuya's dismay, Shinji still hadn't caved, and refused to tell him anything, only telling him that when he felt like bringing it up, Shuuya would be the first to know.

However, Shuuya's willingness to help didn't stop Shinji from being in a perpetual lousy mood. Yutaka knew Shinji long enough to know when he was hiding something, and he was trying his best to try and cheer him up.

Nothing was working, and the swarms of interested people bugging him about him and Takako's little episode at Yukie's party (unbeknownst to Shinji, Yukie had posted the pictures up on her MySpace, Facebook, Livejournal, and every other internet communication site out there) wasn't making things any easier.

"This is getting ridiculous," Shinji grumbled, stomping down the hall, Shuuya and Yutaka in tow. "Who the hell cares if I'm going out with Takako or not. These assholes need to mind their own business."

Shuuya opened his mouth to point out that "you've been trying to convince the whole school that you've been going out with Takako SINCE JULY, you can't be complaining about rumors YOU STARTED" but chose not to say it. It would just make Shinji angry.

"Can you blame 'em?" Yutaka asked. "You guys got caught practically having sex in Yukie's house, of course she's gonna tell everyone…"

Shinji scowled. "It's still annoying, this is worse than the whole "I got AIDS from Mitsuko" bullshit that was going around earlier."

"You got AIDS from Mitsuko? Are you going to give them to Takako?" a girl Shinji didn't know squawked.

Shinji was absolutely dumbfounded by the sheer stupidity of this girl; Shuuya and Yutaka were snickering, and the girl clearly took his silence as a confirmation.

"OMIGOD!" the girl screamed, not listening. "Hey, everyone! Guess what!"

SHIT! Shinji, frantic to shut this girl up, yelled, "LOOK! IT'S SHUUYA NANAHARA!" and pointed to the opposite direction, while Shuuya yelped and hid behind Yutaka. Immediately the girl and her friend squealed and ran off, leaving the three boys alone and safe.

"You see what I mean, Mim? You and Takako going out's probably the most interesting thing to happen to the school since… uh… I don't know. Only thing that ever goes on in this school is Oda's stupid violin concerts anyway," Shuuya said.

"I heard he's dueting with Kiriyama next week," Yutaka added.

"Oh, shut up both of you," Shinji scowled.

"Wear a disguise tomorrow," Yutaka suggested.

"Oh, yeah. Because disguises worked so well last time," Shinji gritted his teeth angrily at the memory, the urge to punch Shuuya returning. "No disguises!"

"Oh, right. Sorry," Yutaka said quickly, having forgotten what happened that fateful day in chapter 5. "Mim, are you alright?"

"I'M FINE," Shinji snarled in an angry voice that convinced neither of his friends.

* * *

"I've been thinking," Takako said.

Hiroki groaned and tried to busy himself picking at his lunch. Takako had dragged him outside to eat today, and although it was much more peaceful than it'd be eating in the noisy cafeteria, Takako only wanted to discuss battle plans away from prying ears.

Takako didn't seem to notice as she went on. "You remember the complete and total chaos of my cross country race, right?"

"How could I forget," Hiroki replied, shaking his head. He'd never be able to forget; having Takako run after him screaming how she was going to do things to endanger the existence of generations to come was a pretty scary thought.

"That jackass Mimura wrecked my race so it's about time I do something to get back at him for all the bull he's pulled on me," Takako said with a smirk.

Hiroki groaned. "Taka! I thought you were done with him! And I saw those pictures, Takako Chigusa, don't you _dare_ tell me you don't like him—"

Takako frowned. She didn't want to tell Hiroki she was OVER Shinji, because that'd be admitting to having a thing for him in the first place, WHICH SHE DID NOT.

Nope.

Never.

Instead, she scowled. "I'm done screwing around! I'm gonna finish his sorry ass off and move on with my life. Dammit, I'm Takako Chigusa, I can't let that loser's idiocy run my reputation through the mud."

Hiroki sighed. The classic Takako Chigusa modesty he'd come to know and love was back. Well, that might mean Takako was really back to her old self.

Nah. That'd make life too easy.

"SUGI! Pay attention!" Takako yelled, banging her fist on the table. "Sheesh! What the hell does a girl have to do to get a decent partner-in-crime!"

"Partner-in-crime!" Hiroki wailed. "Taka, how many times to I have to tell you, I never wanted anything to do with this all along!"

"Are you with me or against me!" Takako demanded.

"What? I'm not against anyone!"

"Either you're with me or you're against him! I can't believe we're still having this conversation! And don't you just sit there tapping your nose! Hiroki, if you were in a psychological war with some douchebag I'd be the first one to help you and you know it!" Takako pointed out.

"Yes, but you're… well… you thrive in combat," Hiroki said meekly. "I'm… not."

"Honestly, you'd think I was the badass martial artist," Takako said, rolling her eyes. She stretched her arms, casually looking around. She stopped suddenly, her eyes widening.

"What?" Hiroki asked fearfully.

Takako's lips curved in a devious smile. "Isn't basketball season starting soon?"

"First game is next week, I think," Hiroki said thoughtfully.

Takako made a face. "I was hoping for a bit more time. Well, whatever. All I need to do is think of a way to sabotage Mimura's game. But it won't be as easy to wreck as a cross country meet, too many witnesses… and I can't exactly deface the gym, can I?" She paused thoughtfully. "We've got some time to plan here, at least. Messing up a regular game won't be as fun as messing up a rivalry game, or a districts game."

"You know, Mim is a genius, Takako," Hiroki said cautiously. "I think he'll be expecting something, at least."

Takako gave a sudden gasp. "That's IT!" she yelled. "Sugi, my man, you are BRILLIANT!"

Hiroki looked scared. "How so?" Every time he heard the words "you're brilliant" or "you're a genius" or anything else that complimented his intelligence, particularly from the mouths of Takako, Shinji, or Shuuya, he knew something inevitably BAD was going to happen.

Takako smiled deviously. "Think of it this way," she said. "Mimura's going to be EXPECTING me to get some payback, won't he?"

"Unless he's suffered recent brain damage, I would assume so," Hiroki said, looking confused. "I don't understand."

"Work with me here. The best way to get back at Mimura… is to NOT get back at him!" Takako shouted triumphantly.

Hiroki stared blankly. "What? I'm confused."

Takako rolled her eyes. "Don't be so close-minded! Think about it! Mimura's going to walk around terrified for the next month EXPECTING me to try something. If he sees me sitting there in the front row during his big game, he'll be glancing over his shoulder the entire time, not wanting to let his guard down! He won't be paying attention to the game! He'll be so scared of me screwing his game up, he'll screw it up himself! His reputation as top junior high basketball player in the country, or whatever the hell it is, is gonna drop like a hot rock!"

Hiroki had to admit, it made sense. "I'm impressed, Taka," he told her. "A revenge plan that doesn't involve some sort of violence?"

"I know, I surprise myself," Takako said proudly. "I'm getting him psychologically here. And watching the look on his face when I'm sitting here in the front row…" she laughed. "Well, it'd be entertaining, that's for sure."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to flash him?" Hiroki inquired.

Takako's face immediately turned a bright shade of red. "Sh-shut up! Ew! Like I'd ever! Don't be a perv!" she huffed. Pissed off, she packed her stuff away in her bag and stormed out, looking quite embarrassed.

As soon as she was gone, Hiroki burst out laughing. Of course he had been kidding, the last thing he wanted was for his best friend to stand up and flash Mimura during the middle of a basketball game (most likely, Mim's brain would explode, followed very quickly by his pants) but the look on Takako's face at the suggestion was priceless.

* * *

"Aha," Takako said triumphantly, ripping her piece of interest off the school news bulletin board. "There we go."

"What's that?" Hiroki asked curiously. "A basketball season schedule? I didn't know you were a fan, Takako—" One look of disgust from Takako was enough. "Oh. That plan is still on."

"Welcome back to Planet Earth," Takako said sarcastically. "Alright, what's today? January 4th?"

"Yeah," Hiroki said. "Uhh, level with me here. You are most likely planning something evil, am I right? And if I'm not mistaken, which I rarely am when it comes to you, this crazy scheme is going to involve me somehow?"

"Damn right," Takako said firmly. "Alright, the best idea here would be to wait about a week or two until the games start getting important, but I don't want to wait that long. Today's Monday, let's wait a week and attack at the first game of the season."

Hiroki groaned. "Takako, haven't I helped the campaign enough?"

"If you were involved in a war like this, I'd help you out no questions asked, and you know it," Takako said, "don't be a wimp and fail me in my time of need."

"But I don't wanna fight anymore," Hiroki whined, "why can't we all just get along?"

"You can all hold hands and sing songs around the campfire later," Takako said impatiently, "right now, I'm getting payback on that jerk and you're going to help me! I helped you!"

"When?"

"Uh… umm… oh, shut up. Do it because I said so!" Takako snapped. "Quit questioning your loyalty, Sugi! Who's been your best friend since we were eight? I let you play with my dog's puppies! I beat up those bullies for you!"

Hiroki groaned. "Fine, fine, enough with the guilt trip. What do you want me to do?"

Takako grinned wickedly. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

"She's up to something," Shinji said, his eyes narrowed.

"Umm, Shinji? Can I have my mirror back?" kind, pretty Sakura Ogawa inquired, looking at Shinji at bit strangely.

"Yeah, yeah. Five more seconds." Shinji held the mirror at a different angle over his shoulder. Sakura didn't know what he was doing, judging by her confused stare, but Shuuya rolled his eyes.

"Enough already, James Bond," Shuuya said firmly, plucking the mirror out of Shinji's hand and handing it back to Sakura. "Thanks, Sakura."

"Umm… no problem?" Sakura said, pocketing her mirror and scooting away quickly, as if she feared Shinji's strange behavior would rub off on her.

"Add Sakura to the list of people in our class you've freaked out, Mim," Shuuya said with a chuckle.

"What'd you do that for?" Shinji asked irritably. "I was watching Takako. She's up to something."

"Like what?" Shuuya asked. "Loading up a machine gun? Grinding an axe?"

Shinji scratched his head. "Looked like she was reading something on the bulletin board."

Shuuya fell over. "THAT'S up to something? I read stuff on the bulletin board all the time!" he said. "Man, Mim, you're losing your touch—"

"She pulled something down, and she and that traitor Sugimura were reading it," Shinji said. "She had that evil smile on her face."

"The one that turns you on?"

Shinji glared at him, but all he got was another award winning Shuuya Nanahara smile.

"Knock it off, Shuuya," Shinji said impatiently. "You read the bulletin board today, right? They're gone, go look at it and tell me what they stole."

"You do it!" Shuuya said, outraged. "Quit bossing me around! I'm not your bitch!"

"You'll be somebody else's if you don't do it," Shinji threatened. "Maybe I should call Yukie over here? I can hold you down long enough for her to tranquilize you—that's more like it!" he added, seeing Shuuya quickly dash across the hallway and check the board.

Shuuya came back. "She either stole the lunch menu, or the basketball season schedule, that's the only two things missing," he said. His expression became thoughtful. "Hmm… why would she want one of those?"

"Why else, you idiot? She took the basketball schedule! She's planning something!" Shinji said, outraged. "If she thinks she can mess up MY game, she's dead wrong!"

"Well it's not like she can do anything too drastic," Shuuya pointed out. "There'll be people everywhere. She won't be able to pull anything without getting busted big time."

"Not necessarily," Shinji said darkly. "She punched the principal square in the face and got away with it, Shu. If that's not getting away with something drastic I don't know what is. It doesn't help that all the teachers and administrators at this school like her better than they like me."

"Not to mention all the horrible semi-legal things she's done to us," Shuuya agreed. "Hmm. Well, when's the first game? Considering I'm on the team I should know this, but I haven't gone to practice at all, I'm too lazy." He made a face.

"Next Friday is the first official game of the season," Shinji said. "I didn't go to practice over break either. I've been so wrapped up in this Takako thing I haven't had time to think about much else."

"What clued you in, your rapidly decreasing social life or your parade of lousy grades?" Shuuya grinned.

Shinji glared at him. "I liked you better when you were an annoying optimist."

Shuuya just laughed.

* * *

Go me, I'm on fire~

I thought I uploaded this about a month ago. XD


	20. Terror

Once again, I thought I uploaded this a few days ago. XD Chapter 20, here we go~

-

The next few days passed without a hitch; Shinji and Takako both pretty much stayed out of each others' way. Of course, these days of rare peace and quiet almost confirmed Shinji's suspicions that something bad was due to happen during his game on Friday night.

During practice Thursday afternoon, Shinji studied the gym carefully. If Takako was planning on doing something here, then she would have to be a genius to pull it off. Considering the bleachers most likely would be full, she'd have a tough time keeping everyone distracted enough to jump onto the court and kick Shinji's ass.

She mentioned something about putting itching powder in my shorts once, Shinji remembered. OK then, I'll come to the game dressed tomorrow, so she can't sneak into the locker room and mess with my stuff. If she's gonna try something, I'll stay ahead of her so she can't get me.

"HEY MIMURA! HEADS UP!"

"Huh?" Shinji snapped back to reality to realize the ball was sailing right towards him, and before he could do anything to prevent the collision, the ball promptly hit him right in the face. "Ow!"

"You OK, Mim?" Shuuya asked. Shuuya was on the basketball team only because he wanted to stay in shape for baseball season, which didn't start for another two weeks after basketball season ended. Anyway, he and Shinji made a pretty unstoppable force on the team. Hell, playing basketball in their first year of junior high was how they got to be good friends.

"I'm fine," Shinji said. "I'm trying to figure out how that crazy girl's going to get me tomorrow!"

"Maybe she won't," Shuuya suggested. "Seriously, think about it, Mim. There's no way she'll be able to get away with it."

"Oh come on, Shuuya! This is Takako we're talking about! She doesn't care about getting in trouble, the only reason she hasn't yet is because she's the luckiest living being on the face of the planet!" Shinji was beginning to get frustrated.

"That's true. But seriously, I don't think anything's going to happen," Shuuya said.

"Yeah, that's a laugh. It's been too quiet on the western front," Shinji grumbled. "And since when are you an optimistic pain in the ass again?"

"I never really stopped being one. I think your constant negativity has been corrupting my mind," Shuuya said, scratching his head.

"WOULD YOU TWO GIRLS STOP TALKING AND START PLAYING!?" shouted pissed-off Coach Hoshino.

-

"Hey, good luck today, Mimura!"

"Yeah, kick ass!"

"You rock, Mimura!"

"Hey, Mimura, I've got a hundred yen on you making the winning basket!"

"You guys all suck! I'm on the team too!" Shuuya whined.

"Don't get too jealous, Shu," Shinji said with a grin, "remember last year, how you slipped in the middle of the court? People don't forget."

"Oh please. You peed your spandex last year," Shuuya scoffed. "You stunk up the whole locker room too, when you tossed them in the corner!"

Shinji was denied a moment to respond to this when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Yeah, wh—AAAH!! YOU!!" Shinji yelled, expecting to see an annoying fangirl and instead looking at the sweet smile on the beautiful face of Takako. "What!?"

"Don't be so jumpy! I come in peace," Takako said, holding her hands out to show she wasn't armed.

"Then go away!" Shuuya complained, hiding behind Shinji in terror.

"Man, you guys are just rude. I came to say good luck," Takako told Shinji, her innocent smile almost convincing Shinji (too bad he knew she was EVIL!). "You need to get out in the sun, Mimura, you're really pale."

Shinji's eyes narrowed. "I don't know WHAT you're up to, but you're not going to get away with it!"

Takako looked mildly offended. "I'm not up to anything! I'm just being a good sport, y'know… team spirit and all that, go Shiroiwa!" she said, with a winning, and in Shinji's opinion, terrifying, smile. "Ah, Shuuya, you can stop hiding, I see you. What's with you guys? Pre-game nerves?"

"No, we're a bit more afraid of being ATTACKED," Shuuya said, earning a backwards heel kick to the shins from Shinji.

Shinji glared at the group of people congregated behind Takako. "Any reason you've got an audience? Did you sell them tickets to the "Watch Takako Kick Mimura's Ass" show?"

"No!" Takako said with a frown. "They follow us everywhere! I'm used to them by now."

"I remain unconvinced. Thanks for the best wishes," Shinji said, rolling his eyes. "You can go back to putting a solar-powered bomb in the game ball, or, or, rigging the concession stands to simultaneously explode, or—" He made wild hand gestures as he spoke.

"Whatever~" Takako said, "and here I am trying to be nice." She smiled brightly. "Well, I'll be there watching right in the front row, so make me proud, alright? If you play well enough, I might consider taking you back." She gave his hand a squeeze and skipped off, the crowd of idiots behind her following behind.

"That was an award winning performance," Shinji finally said, once she was gone. "And will you stop holding on to me like that!?"

"What? She's terrifying!" Shuuya whined, unwrapping his arms (and leg) from Shinji's waist. "And rigging the concession stands to explode? How'd you think of THAT?"

"I don't know. Sometimes my own genius astounds even me," Shinji said with a shrug.

Shuuya rolled his eyes before nodding seriously. "Well, you heard it from her, Mim. She's not up to anything."

Shinji stared at him. "Give me a fucking break, Shuuya! She was obviously lying!"

"Hmm, I dunno, she seemed pretty sincere to me, that's what was so terrifying," Shuuya said thoughtfully. "Ah well."

-

It was almost game time, and Hiroki found himself sitting next to Takako in a place he never thought he would ever see her. Front row, at a Shioriwa Junior High basketball game.

Hiroki stared at his best friend suspiciously. "Takako, you're my best friend, and I dearly hope you take no offense at my suggestion, but—WHAT are you up to? What'd you do?"

Takako made a face. "I didn't do anything! Quit being a nag, Sugi, you sound like my mom!"

"Takako, you HATE basketball! Why're you here? What're you planning?" Hiroki asked firmly. "Come on, tell me!"

Takako's resolve broke. "Fine." She leaned in closer to Hiroki in case anyone around heard her. "You know the psychological thing I was talking about earlier? Well, I decided to take it a bit further. I'm gonna have perfect attendance to all of Mimura's stupid games. He'll see me in the front row, smiling and rooting him on, and eventually the idiot'll get used to me being there, and he'll drop his guard. And the MINUTE that happens…"

She paused. "Well, I haven't gotten that far yet. But I'm sure you see where I'm going here."

"I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted," Hiroki said, shaking his head. "You and Mim are perfect for each other, you realize that?"

"Huh? Ew! Don't be gross!" Takako made a face.

"Then why are you still messing with him?" Hiroki asked.

"He's just fun to piss off!" Takako said, aware she sounded too defensive. "He's not my type anyway!"

"Then what /is/ your type?" Hiroki smirked.

"I, uhh… shut up! The game's about to start!" Takako scowled, but Hiroki didn't miss the blush on her cheeks.

"Is that sunburn, Taka, or are you blushing? OW," Hiroki added, when Takako jabbed him in the chest with her elbow.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Takako growled. "What were you saying?"

"I didn't say anything," Hiroki sighed.

"That's what I thought."

-

Shuuya had to admit, despite being scared shitless of stepping on a mine, or catching a rigged basketball, Shinji was really on his game today.

Unfortunately, since Shinji was playing so well, that meant he, Shuuya, was not needed, therefore he found himself sitting on the bench. He later made the mistake of complaining about his benched situation to Shinji, who only pointed out, "you're on the bench, so keep your eyes on Takako!"

Shuuya was bored. He wasn't made for sitting around! He wanted to get into that game, man! But since he was bored, he decided to humor his best friend's wishes and glance over at Takako periodically.

She wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary; the only suspicious thing she was doing was looking happy, which Takako rarely did. She was clapping and cheering along with Hiroki, and she seemed like she was having a good time. It was strange seeing her smile and cheer like that, but Shuuya shrugged it off.

That's probably why Mim's playing so well, Shuuya thought with a chuckle. There was no denying Shinji was great at basketball, but he was probably really stepping it up today to show off to Takako.

It was the end of the second quarter, and the cheerleaders had ran out on the court to do their halftime dance.

Shinji poked Shuuya in the arm, coming to stand next to him. "Yo. You see anything suspicious?" he asked.

"Hey, guys, Kiyoshi's not wearing her spandex under her skirt," grinned Toshiie Yamazaki from Class A, also on the team, watching the cheerleaders' routine.

"Go away, Toshiie—" Shinji turned back to Shuuya. "Takako!"

"I'm Shuuya! You really are obsessed! " Shuuya pointed out.

"Oh shut up! Just tell me what she's been doing!!" Shinji snapped.

"She hasn't been doing anything, Mim, it looks like she's having fun," Shuuya said. "Kind of weird, seeing her cheering like that—"

"She wasn't the one screaming "take off your pants, Mimura, I want to see YOUR basketballs", was she?" Shinji asked suspiciously.

"No, I think that was Kiriyama's gangbanger," Shuuya said thoughtfully. "Tsukioka, I think his name is."

"Ew! Sorry I asked!" Shinji made a face. "Well as long as Takako's not doing anything… where's she sitting, by the way? I know you said she's sitting in the front somewhere, but I don't see her now…" Shinji scanned the bleachers, which were emptier than they were during the game due to people leaving to buy food.

"She was sitting… there," Shuuya said, pointing. "See, Sugi's still there." He waved at Hiroki (who suspiciously waved back) and looked back at Shinji. "What?"

"She's GONE! She's doing something!" Shinji yelled. "She's probably crawling through the air vents in the ceiling to drop down and strangle me in the middle of the court for everyone to see!"

"Mim, you're acting cracked out again," Shuuya said nervously. "She probably went to buy a hot dog or something, don't freak out! I think you watch a bit too many of those undercover detective movies~"

Shinji apparently didn't hear him and stomped towards the gym entrance, where people returning to their seats from buying food eyed him strangely.

"Mim, stop it—" Shuuya groaned, being ignored again.

"Where is she, the evil, conniving little sneak—"

"Hi, guys!"

Shinji jumped five feet in the air and turned around, staring Takako in the face. "YOU!" he shouted. "I bet I just caught you red-handed, huh!? I caught you! You're setting a trap for me, aren't you!?"

Takako raised an eyebrow. "Nope, just getting a drink." She showed him the soda she was holding. "Damn, Mimura, you really must be worried about this game!"

"No, I'm not! You're up to something!" Shinji said, ignoring Shuuya behind him, who was denying his friendship with Shinji to the spectators.

"I'm not doing anything," Takako said, "and if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to my seat." She gently pushed past Shinji and headed back towards her seat near Hiroki, who was watching blankly.

"Congratulations, you've officially freaked out 80% of the school," Shuuya rolled his eyes. "Man, Mim, I'm gonna start avoiding you, people are going to think I'm weird by association—"

Shinji just ignored him and stomped back over to the Gatorade coolers, pouring himself a cup, drinking it down, and strangling the cup viciously.

-

Five seconds left in the last quarter.

"Yo, Mim! Heads up!" Shuuya yelled, passing the ball to Shinji over the guy blocking him's shoulder. Shinji caught the ball effortlessly and dribbled down the court, avoiding the guy running at him, trying to steal the ball, and shooting.

SWISH. The crowd went crazy (well, the Shioriwa crowd did; the enemy team just booed) and the enemy team all groaned and stomped off to regroup.

"WOOHOO!! YEAH, MIM!" Shuuya cheered, grabbing his friend in a hug.

"Get off!" Shinji yelled, although he was kidding. The rest of the team ran over and they all cheered. And sure enough, Takako and Hiroki were in the front row, both clapping and cheering. Shinji had to admit, the sight of Takako clapping and having fun like that WAS strange.

"You know, she's hotter when she's not angry," Shinji said to Shuuya, once the rest of the team dispersed.

"Yeah, it's weird seeing her happy," Shuuya said, "but I was right, wasn't I? She didn't do anything!"

"I guess so," Shinji said. "Well, who knew? I guess Takako likes basketball."

"Looks like it," Shuuya agreed. "Hey, go talk to her, maybe she's up for a bit of post-game fun, OW!"

Shinji had kicked him. "Shut up! It's not like that!"

"Yeah, yeah," Shuuya rolled his eyes. "You keep denying it, Mim."

-

Shinji's recent basketball victory, as expected, made his ego expand. Therefore, his guard was officially down, big time.

"Hmm… what do you think of greasing the gym floors?" Takako asked thoughtfully.

"What about the rest of the team?" Hiroki pointed out. "You don't want to harm innocent people, right?" He looked fearful. "RIGHT?" His voice begged for reassurance.

"No, of course I don't," Takako said, waving her hand dismissively. "Well, I mean… if they're in my WAY, then I will, but I'd rather not have any martyrs."

"Stop," Hiroki pleaded.

Takako rolled her eyes but fell silent. For about three seconds.

"Alright, then, what do YOU think we should do?" she asked.

Hiroki hesitated. He really wanted to say, "give up!" or "stop the madness!" or even more specifically, "I don't care WHAT you and Mim do, just leave me out of it!"

What he really said was, "Um, I'm not sure."

Takako made a face. "You're useless!"

"Hey!" Hiroki whined. "I am a black belt in martial arts! I am not useless!"

"Unless you put that martial arts to good use, as in kicking Mimura's ass, it's not going to much use!" Takako said firmly. "What good is being a black belt if you don't use the skill? It's not like you're a Power Ranger or a Dragonball Z character! We're not being plagued by aliens from outer space!"

"Takako, you're being ridiculous," Hiroki said impatiently, "Power Rangers and Dragonball Z fighters don't use their powers to pick on innocent people anyway, they fight bad guys. In this situation, martial arts isn't an acceptable resort because it'd be against an unequal opponent, Mim's great at sports but I could kick his ass if I wanted to, and this fight hasn't elevated to physical attacks yet, unless you count what the two of YOU do whenever you get your hands on each other. Besides, it's not right to pick fights, unless someone starts one with you. Martial arts is not for the violent or the faint of heart, it's an art of self defense, and self defense only! Only those who are strong enough to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageousness and misfortune can dare travel the long, arduous road to—Hey! Are you even listening to me!?"

"Hmm? No, you lost me at 'Takako, you're being ridiculous'," Takako rolled her eyes. "You sound like the martial arts poster boy. Seriously, Sugi, it's not like your Sensei's gonna pop up from the shadows behind you and snatch away your black belt if he catches you fighting, will he? He's an old guy, not a friggen ninja." She laughed.

"You don't understand," Hiroki said with a frown.

"Probably not," Takako agreed. "But anyway, it was making my skin crawl having to be nice to those two losers. I'm getting payback during the next game, because I can't STAND to be friendly to ANYONE, particularly them!"

"I love you too," Hiroki said, sighing. It was often stressful being friends with Takako and Shinji, but hey, at least it wasn't boring…

-

Personally speaking I /hate/ basketball, so it's annoying writing basketball scenes. XD


	21. Takako Loves Shinji?

ARRGH I'M SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE D:

I did a complete plot twist, so a lot of my pre-stuff sadly became useless and I had to re-write all of it. But I've given you a nice long chapter to make up for it :)

-

Shinji Mimura was Shuuya Nanahara's best friend. That could go down in the laws of science as a scientific law. There was nothing in the universe that could ever break the two of them up.

…except for hearing the words 'Takako's up to something' eight million times a day.

"SHE'S NOT UP TO SOMETHING," Shuuya groaned for the eight million and oneth (1) time that day, "seriously, Mim, whatever happened to being frosty or whatever? What if your uncle was watching you?

"I hope my uncle's not watching me," Shinji commented with a shudder, "he'd laugh at me, or something, for getting my balls in a twist over a _girl_!"

"Well, it's not that unheard of," said Yoshi, "c'mon, Mim, admit you like her!"

"No," Shinji retorted, "that would be _lying_, and I don't believe in lying!"

Shuuya (and the narration) could think of at least three—four—five—six—oh, a lot of times when Shinji _had_ believed in lying, but chose not to bring it up.

"You're just pissed because you're not REALLY going out with Takako, are you?" sneered the annoying voice belonging to Kazushi Niida.

"What's that buzzing noise?" Shinji asked loudly, rolling his eyes. Kazushi was leaned against the wall of the staircase, glaring at him, cracking his wimpy knuckles. The shiner Takako had given him from the night of Yukie's party was still visible, even almost a month; faint, but still pretty darn visible.

"You heard me, Mimura, you asshole," snarled Kazushi. "Like Takako'd ever waste her time on shit sticks like you. How drunk was she when you fucked her at Yukie's party?"

"About as sober as she was when she bashed your mutant face in, although I don't see much of a difference," Shinji replied coolly, knowing perfectly well Takako WAS wasted but deciding to leave that detail out. It wasn't any of Niida's business anyway. "Now unless you want to die, I'd suggest you get the hell out of my way, because I swear the next fucking person who pisses me off is—"

"You talk tough, Mimura, but you sure as hell don't have the balls to back yourself up," Kazushi snarled, clenching his fists. "I'll knock the smirk right off your face!"

"I'm not smirking," Shinji said calmly, "and if you're finished acting like you're ten times tougher than you really are, you can feel free to get the hell out of my way!"

Kazushi glared at him, then smirked. "Sure. Go right ahead," he snapped, leaning against the wall again.

Yutaka scurried down the stairs, yelling something about being hungry, but Shinji and Shuuya were much more suspicious. Shinji started to head down the stairs, and Kazushi stuck his foot out.

"Hey! Mim! He's tryin' to trip you!" Shuuya yelled. Shinji spun around on the spot to pound Kazushi's face in, but Kazushi beat him to the punch, literally. He sunk his fist into Shinji's stomach, knocking the wind out of the basketball star.

"Ow! Son of a bitch!" Shinji grunted, hugging his stomach. "Who the hell do you think you are, you—" Kazushi cut him off with another punch, this one right smack in the middle of his face.

"AARGH!!" Shinji yelled, enraged. Unbeknownst to Shinji, Takako and Hiroki were headed up the stairs, and in his state of rage, Shinji seized Kazushi by his shoulders and proceeded to tackle him down the stairs, sending both boys rolling down the stairs, Kazushi crying in pain every time Shinji's punches made contact (which was 98 percent of the time) with his body.

Hiroki saw the two warriors locked in mortal combat rolling down the stairs and jumped off the ledge, sparing himself, but unfortunately for Takako, (who was on the right side of the staircase and couldn't get out of the way) Kazushi rolled into her legs, causing her to topple over on top of Shinji, causing all three of them to tumble down the remaining stairs and fall to the ground in an angry heap, Shinji still beating the hell out of Kazushi until he landed on top of Takako.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?" Takako shouted. "God DAMMIT, Mimura, get your head out of my chest!!"

"So that's what this is," Shinji said, his voice muffled.

Kazushi, whimpering in pain, scrambled to his wobbly feet. He was muttering swear words with every gasp for air, and proceeded to kick Shinji in the crotch on his way up.

"OWW!" Shinji yelped, recoiling horribly. "FUCK!! Why does this keep HAPPENING!?"

"It woulda been worse had the Robo-Bitch not been here to break your fall!" Kazushi said shrilly, bringing up one of Takako's old nicknames, mopping up his bloody nose and lip.

Shinji was outraged. "What'd you call her, you son of a—" Takako put her hand over his mouth and pushed him aside, getting to her feet and cracking her knuckles. She tapped Kazushi's shoulder, and when he turned around, she punched him in his stomach. Hard.

Kazushi grunted as Takako's fist connected with his stomach, the force of the punch causing him to double over. Takako smirked and blew on her fist as though it were a smoking gun. "Get the hell out of here," she snapped. "Or it's gonna get worse."

"You two assholes were made for each other!" Kazushi yelled, and stumbled away on his wobbly legs. Apparently he didn't mind hitting a fallen opponent (and even that wasn't accurate; Shinji had tripped down the stairs and hadn't gotten up yet when Kazushi kicked him) but when faced with a stronger opponent, or at least one who would fight back, he would run for the hills.

Of course, with every fight, there were people gathered to watch, all of whom were already jumping to ridiculous conclusions as to what happened to start the fight (Kazushi was trying to steal Takako away from Shinji, and Shinji beat the hell out of him, and Takako finished the job!!!!! OMIGOD!!). Shinji shot Shuuya a HELP look.

"Clear out, get out of here," Hiroki said, quickly redirecting everyone in a different direction.

"Yeah, beat it," Shuuya added. "Let the two lovebirds make out in peace… trust me, folks, you do not want to see what's coming up…"

-

Takako watched the people disperse and let her breath out. "What the hell was that about?" she asked, staring at Shinji with almost concern as she helped pull him to his feet. "He do that to your nose?"

Shinji's eyes widened and his hand jumped to his nose. "Aaargh… it's not broken," he groaned. "Definitely bleeding. You have a tissue or something?"

"Yeah, hang on," Takako said, digging through her bag. "Here… Tilt your head back some…"

Shuuya opened his mouth to say something, but Hiroki grabbed his shoulder and shook his head. Both smirking ear-to-ear, the two boys snuck out the side door, leaving Shinji and Takako alone.

Assholes, Shinji thought, but fought back a grin, making a note to thank Shuuya later after he was done kicking his ass for leaving him. Takako was still giving him a pitying "too bad you got your ass kicked" look, and he decided to elaborate. "Uh, for the record, Niida snuck up on me," he said quickly, stuffing his free hand into his pocket. "He jumped me, I swear."

Takako flashed him a quick smile. "Yeah, well, it's Niida. He's a pussy."

Shinji grinned. "Right. Well, by now he's probably halfway to the principal's office, to rat me out, and then I'll be—"

"—innocent," Takako interrupted. "He hit you first, right?"

"Yeah, but there's no way to prove that," Shinji said, surprised at the fact that they were, once again, getting along. And he liked it. He pressed the tissue to his nose again, wincing. "Ow. Of all the places for him to nail me, he's gotta go for my nose AND my balls. I can't even fucking stand up!"

"It could be worse," Takako pointed out. "He could have broken your nose or really crunched your nuts."

Shinji winced at the idea. "Speaking of which, that was some punch," he told her, grinning. "You really nailed him, I saw him crying. Serves him right."

"I hear ya," Takako smiled. She glanced over Shinji's shoulder and frowned. "Hey, where'd Sugi go?"

"He and Shu abandoned us a few minutes ago," Shinji said, awkwardly scratching his head.

"Oh," Takako said, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Uh, Mimura, I… uh…"

Shinji leaned in towards her, and without any warning, kissed her, slanting his lips across hers, trying to take advantage of the little time they had together before they were inevitably interrupted. Takako's hand went to his waist, her fingers threading through his empty belt loops and pulling him closer to her.

After about fifteen seconds Shinji pulled back. Takako stared at him. "Wh-what was that for?" she asked. It sure as hell wasn't the first time he had randomly kissed her, but normally he did it when she was about to rip his head off.

Shinji shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. "I felt like it."

"In about ten seconds, that door's going to open, and half the school's going to pile in here, like always," Takako muttered, her hand moving to brush a stray strand of hair from her face. Shinji's hand reached hers and pushed it down gently, his own hand tucking the piece of hair behind her ear.

"Let 'em watch," Shinji told her, and kissed her again, slipping his arms around her waist. Takako slid her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, not even going to pretend to struggle. She kissed him for a while, letting go of her thoughts as Shinji held her in his arms.

Needing to breathe, they pulled away from each other, Shinji leaning his head against hers. "One of these days," he said, "when we've stopped playing games, I'll be able to do that whenever I want." Takako felt a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"What do you mean, when we've stopped playing games?" Takako asked. "What makes you so sure that'll happen?"

"It'll happen," Shinji said confidently, wiping the blood from his nose again, having forgotten it was bleeding in the first place. "I'll make sure it does. Everyone I know keeps telling me I'm crazy about you, I've been denying it all this time, but I don't give a crap anymore. I'll play along as long as you want, but you're going to be mine when all this is over," he continued, leaning forward to kiss her cheek softly. "You're driving me crazy, Takako, what the hell do I have to do?"

Takako bit her bottom lip firmly to prevent herself from saying anything. There was no way he was screwing with her… he sounded so damn sincere, and although he lied to everyone else about the two of them, he hadn't lied to _her_ yet. Hell, he was even honest with her about that stupid trap, knowing perfectly well she was going to kill him for it.

She was trying to keep her thoughts straight, but it wasn't helping that Shinji's arms were still around her waist, his body pressed against hers, his lips kissing her cheek again before moving to her mouth again. Not that she minded, but she had to make some sense of what she was thinking.

"Shinji, stop it," Takako said finally, pulling away from him.

Shinji didn't argue, but instead dropped his arms, surprised she used his first name for once, but deciding instantly he preferred it to his last name when she said it. Takako looked at him and closed her eyes, confused out of her mind.

"I'll talk to you later," she finally said, avoiding eye contact.

Shinji nodded, not saying anything.

Takako took one last glance at him, at his handsome face, his gorgeous dark eyes, the wet blood coming from his nose… don't, she told herself, but ignored it and pressed her lips to Shinji's again. "See you," she said quickly, and left.

Shinji watched her go and sighed. He couldn't have been more bluntly discreet about telling her how he felt and he still got no reaction from her. Shuuya couldn't use the shell-shocked excuse again, she kissed him back and she still turned him down.

She's screwing with me, that's what she's doing, Shinji realized, and scowled. Nobody screwed with Shinji Mimura like that. With a scowl, and a renewed resolve, Shinji wiped the blood coming from his nose off on his hand and stormed off to lunch, his mind brimming with ways to get back at the girl he was very quickly falling in love with.

-

Takako walked as quickly as she could to the cafeteria to avoid letting Shinji catch up with her; she'd left before him, but there was a possibility he might beat her to lunch, which she didn't want happening. She had a lot to think about now, and she wasn't too sure if she was still playing games with him. Part of her… alright, most of her, really wanted him. Somewhere, between annoying her half to death and kissing her, he'd won her over. She knew it wasn't about revenge anymore, not really… it was about getting her hands on him. Revenge had become their excuse, not their motivation.

Too bad she had no idea how to tell Hiroki this… or, for that matter, Shinji himself…

Hiroki might not believe her… or maybe he'd already figured it out. Sometimes it seemed he knew what she was thinking before she did; maybe he'd been able to see through her since Day 1.

Then again, Day 1 she really DID want to kill Shinji… so that wasn't completely accurate. Well, whatever.

Apparently Kazushi had been quick to tell the entire world that Shinji Mimura beat him up and Takako Chigusa punched him in the gut to finish the job; nobody had heard, though, that Kazushi had been the first to start the fight. Typical Kazushi, leaving that minor detail out. Takako ignored the people muttering and pointing as she walked by; she sat down at her usual table with Hiroki, who looked at her expectantly.

"Well?" he asked.

"Well what?" Takako asked.

"How'd it go with Mimura? We left you guys alone in there… and you're not covered in blood, meaning you didn't KILL him… what happened?" Hiroki asked. He stopped. "Well, if it's anything, uhh, private—you can disclose that information, but, uh—"

"This time, he told me he was crazy about me," Takako groaned. "And that's got me more confused than ever."

Hiroki looked so shocked Takako actually thought his brain died. "Sugi!? Sugi!?" she asked.

Hiroki shook his head and blinked a few times, apparently trying to regain control of his mind. "He said WHAT!?" he finally asked.

"I already told you," Takako said, blushing. "Don't make me say it again."

"Taka, you don't understand. I've known Mim for about—god, I don't know, four years? And never, ever, EVER, has he ever told a girl he even REMOTELY liked her," Hiroki said, looking awe-struck. "Hell, he used to make fun of US for admitting _we_ liked a girl—not that we ever tell him anymore, we learned that the hard way, but he always figures it out somehow—"

"Sugi!" Takako interrupted. "Focus!"

"Sorry, sorry. Well… the thing is, when he said earlier, he liked you… well, he's never said that to a girl before, at least to my current knowledge. But if he really told you he was CRAZY about you—well, coming from Mim, that's an "I love you"," Hiroki explained. "What'd you tell him?"

"I told him to stop kissing me—oh, grow up," she added, when Hiroki made a face—"and that I'd talk to him later." She looked at him. "Well, what's your analysis of the situation?" she finally asked.

"I have no idea," Hiroki said, tapping his nose awkwardly. "I… I honestly don't know WHAT to say. I think he really means it, but that could just be my charmingly optimistic nature, if I do say so myself…"

"_Not helping_," Takako groaned. "Well, what now? I've no idea what to make of this…"

Hiroki hadn't spoken, and instead was giving her a thoughtful look.

"What?" she said finally, annoyed.

"It doesn't take a genius, Takako," Hiroki told her. "You're crazy about him too."

"I am not!" Takako said automatically.

"Oh come on, Takako," Hiroki said, exasperated. "This is me you're talking to. Cut the crap. You like Mim. Probably have for a while now, but you just won't admit it—to me, to yourself—well, no matter what, you need to admit it to Mim. He's already done his half."

Takako stared at him before a big, uncharacteristic smile spread across her face. Why _was_ she still screwing around with Mimura? He liked her, she knew he did, he'd said it himself—but she was too insecure about it to believe it. And now it hit her right smack in the face—she liked him, too.

With timing unmatched by any mortal human being, Shinji came in the cafeteria, making a beeline for his usual table, looking thoroughly angry and miserable, although his nose wasn't bleeding visibly anymore. She should just march right over there and ask Shinji to go out with her… well, no, first she'd drag him away from his idiot friends, then ask him. He'd say yes, she knew he would… Hiroki was right…

"I think you're right, Sugi," Takako said, shaking her head. "Man… who would've seen this coming?"

"Uh, everyone," Hiroki told her, and they both laughed, Takako a bit more reluctantly.

-

It didn't take long for the entire school to hear how Shinji and Takako teamed up on poor innocent Kazushi and beat the living hell out of him. If anything, Shinji was still too angry that Takako blew him off again to give a crap what the other idiots thought.

"Mim?" Shuuya asked, when Shinji sat down with a scowl and savagely attacked his lunch. "Uh… everything okay?"

Shinji glowered at him silently, which Shuuya took to understand as "we'll talk about this later". Yutaka and Yoshi eyed him strangely, but let it go, assuming it had to do with his nose.

"ARRRGH," Shinji growled, the first thing he'd said in twenty minutes, when blood began to drip from his nose. "Stupid son-of-a—" He grabbed the only paper thing he could find (Yutaka's recently completed math homework) and held it against his nose, still shaking with fury.

"Eww," Yutaka whined, "Mim, come on, that's my homework, it took me two—"

"You can copy mine," Shuuya interrupted quickly, wanting to avoid the storm brewing on the horizon from making a landfall and killing everyone in its wake.

"But you're not in my class," Yutaka complained, and Shuuya kicked him under the table angrily.

"Hey, strangest thing today," Yoshi commented, and Shuuya breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Yoshi wouldn't be so stupid as to bring up a Takako-related subject. "Hiroki talked to me! He asked me how I was doing!"

Shinji's hand, which was holding a filled bottle of water, clenched angrily, squashing the bottle and alarming Yoshi into silence. Shuuya sighed, pretty sure this was going to be SOME story Shinji was going to share later…

-

"Mim, hold up, we need to talk," Shuuya said, grabbing his friend's arm. Shinji scowled and jerked away, but didn't attack, which Shuuya took as a good sign. "What's bugging you, man? Is it…" He glanced behind his shoulder quickly. "Is it Takako?"

"OF COURSE IT'S HER!!" Shinji shouted, scaring the hell out of Shuuya and nearly knocking him on his ass. "Do you even have to ASK!?"

"Sorry, sorry," Shuuya said quickly. "What'd she do now?"

"I already told you," Shinji said impatiently, "I'll tell you when I feel like telling you, and I don't feel like telling anyone anything at the moment, so leggo, I want to get home before my nose starts bleeding again."

"Stop walling me out," Shuuya ordered. "Mim, something's bugging you, we all know what is, I'm your best friend, and if you don't talk to someone all this anxiety is going to build up and you're going to explode."

Shinji raised an eyebrow at this.

"I had the friggen trots yesterday and I was reading one of Ms. Ryoko's parenting magazines to kill the time, but that's not the point," Shuuya said impatiently. "Just answer me this, alright?"

"No!"

"You didn't even hear it yet!" Shuuya whined. "Look, I'm assuming you told Takako you liked her again, right?"

Shinji's scowl got bigger, so Shuuya assumed that meant 'yes'. He was about to ask, "How'd she take it?" but seeing the nearly savage expression on Shinji's face, he decided that wouldn't be such a smart idea.

"What happened? C'mon," Shuuya said, putting a comforting arm around his friend's shoulder, expecting to be hit since Shinji wasn't a big fan of being hugged (unless, of course, it was by Takako).

He WASN'T expecting Shinji to fling his arms around him and practically lose it. "She blew me off again," Shinji whined, burrowing his face into Shuuya's shoulder, "I told her I was crazy about her, and she just kept kissing me back, and she didn't even say anything, she's using me, man, I'm losing my mind!!" He let out an anguished scream into Shuuya's shoulder which was thankfully muffled, but Shuuya put his arms around his friend and hugged him tightly.

"Let it out, man," Shuuya told him, patting his head comfortingly, "c'mon, it'll be okay, we'll get her back…"

"I DON'T WANT TO GET HER BACK," Shinji wailed, "I JUST WANT HER!!"

"I understand, man, you want her dead," Shuuya said soothingly, "don't worry, we'll—…wait, are you serious? For the love of God, Mim, she's torturing you here, she's reduced you to nothing but a crying puddle of pathetic nothing, you really still want her?"

"I don't have anything to lose anymore, why the hell would I be lying?" Shinji demanded.

"I don't believe you, man, I'm here risking being the butt of gay jokes until college to comfort your sorry ass, and you're being a jackass with me!" Shuuya said, outraged. "Well, you go find some other guy to cuddle!" He stopped, realizing how weird those last few sentences sounded.

"No, I didn't say I didn't like it," Shinji whined, hugging him tighter. "Don't leave me here!"

"Would you like ME to talk to Takako?" Shuuya asked, becoming desperate, aside from the fact that his arms were becoming numb from Shinji's death grip around his shoulders.

"No way! What's that gonna do?" Shinji complained, hugging him tighter.

"First of all, GET OFF, my arms are falling asleep. Second, did Takako really, in words, say she didn't like you, or did she just say something girly like "see you later"?" Shuuya demanded.

"That's exactly what she said, "see you"," Shinji muttered, "and what's that gotta do with—"

"It means, she's considering your offer, but she's gotta think it over first, y'know, make sure it's the right thing to do before she makes any commitments," Shuuya told him.

"I should start reading parenting magazines," Shinji commented.

"That wasn't from a parenting magazine, I heard Yukie saying that earlier," Shuuya chuckled.

"This is ridiculous," Shinji said angrily, his mood changing for the seventh time this chapter, "I hate the fact that she's got this much of an EFFECT on me!! I'm friggen Shinji Mimura! I'm not supposed to give a shit about what girls think about me! And Takako's driving me so crazy I don't know WHAT to do anymore! I want to hate her, but at the same time I want to kiss her and get her clothes off and—"

"Whoa there," Shuuya said quickly, "look, your problem is Takako doesn't believe you, you've just gotta find a way to prove to her that you're not a prick, which, knowing YOU, is gonna be hard to do."

Shinji gave him a dirty look.

"Shoulda seen her punch Niida," Shinji said, shaking his head, "best damn thing I've ever seen a girl do in my entire life. Well except that time when Takako took my shirt off and—"

"_Stop_," Shuuya pleaded. "Stop being all sappy with me, man, you're scaring me."

"Very funny," Shinji grumbled. "She better not be screwing with my head, or I'm gonna—I'm gonna—"

"Gonna what? Stutter at her?" Shuuya snickered.

Shinji scowled. "Shut up. I ask you for help ONCE and—"

"ONCE?" Shuuya asked incredulously. "Mim, asking for my help ONCE was when this whole damn mess started. You've asked for my help at LEAST 90,394,935,919,593,251 times since then." He thought for a second. "No, there's probably a few more times I haven't counted."

"Oh, shut up. I've been thinking," Shinji told him seriously. "I'm currently working on my best idea yet. It ain't flawless yet but I'm gonna make sure it is. I'll see you later, I've got some important business to attend to." He left, leaving a very confused Shuuya behind.

-

(1) I had a college advisor who said 'oneth'. Like, "that application is due May Oneth." Let me tell you, it made taking anything she said seriously very, very difficult.

Woohoo, Shinji's got a plan up his sleeve now too~

Chapter 21! I hope I made it a good one, I love this story to death :3

SHAMELESS STORY PIMPAGE If you like BR WTF, or Shinji/Takako, go read my other story Motored, it's completely different from this one but I think you'll enjoy it :) END SHAMELESS STORY PIMPAGE


	22. Shinji's Stupid Plan

After a lot of deliberation as to where I was going with this story, I changed my mind and did what I originally had planned. So, go me!

This chapter is where the lighthearted humor comes to a bit of a standstill (at least, in Shinji's case). Mostly because the two idiots like each other and they're going to have a bit of difficulty with—ah, hell, I'm giving too much away, read the chapter :D

-

The next day, Shinji seemed to be in a better mood than he'd been in the day before, although when someone's hit rock bottom it's not too hard to be in a better mood the next day. Needless to say, Shuuya was rather interested in seeing what (stupid) idea Shinji was being so secretive about, and Shinji was only too delighted to tell him.

Too bad his plan sucked.

"No. Absolutely not. No way," Shuuya said, staring at his friend in awe and disgust. "You can't be serious, Mim. This is your grand scheme? You're really stooping this low? What about your pride, man?

"What else am I gonna do?! She's driving me crazy!" Shinji shouted. "You got a better idea?"

"Yeah, talk to her again! Tell her you're serious and you want a straight answer from her so you can go on with your life! I mean, think about it! Everyone would shut the hell up for once and stop bugging us, you could talk to Sugi again without him getting all suspicious, and to be honest, Mim, you're my best friend but this is a really shitty thing you're planning on doing! If you're gonna do this to her then count me out," Shuuya retorted.

"Fine. I see how it is," Shinji replied. "Look, as nice as your little just-talk-to-her plan sounds on paper, it doesn't work! I've tried talking to her, I told her how I felt already and she totally blew me off. I'm sick of it, I want to know if she likes me back or not and—"

"So pretending to be Mitsuko's boyfriend is going to make her admit to liking you!? Mim, come on, that only works in old movies! If anything, she's gonna think you were BS'ing her about liking her, you're done with this stupid fight, and she'll go back to the way things were before you two started this crap!" Shuuya said.

"It's foolproof! If she likes me, she'll get jealous," Shinji said angrily. "What's not to get, Shuuya, after all the crap she's pulled on me—"

"You're such an arrogant prick, do you actually think she's going to get all jealous? She's not that dumb, Mim, she's either going to figure out what you're up to or she's not going to care!" Shuuya said in frustration. "All this is going to do is make things between you guys even MORE awkward, it's ridiculous how stupid you two are both being—"

"I don't care," Shinji said firmly. "You don't want to help me, that's fine." He grabbed his bag and stomped off.

Shuuya watched him go and shook his head. Shinji was getting way too wrapped up in this…

-

"You've got the money?" Mitsuko asked, holding her hand out.

"Yup. 10,000 yen right here," Shinji said, reluctantly handing over all the money he had to his name (and about half of the money belonging to Yutaka's name, although he didn't know what the money was really for). "You remember what you're doing?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your nuts in a vice. I pretend to be your girlfriend, piss off Takako. That all?" Mitsuko asked, looking bored.

"That's all. I don't care what you do, I just want you to piss her off and drive her as insane as she's driving me," Shinji told her.

"No offense, and by 'no offense' I mean 'all offense intended', but you're an idiot. It ever occur to you that this might be a reason to send her over the edge and kill you?" Mitsuko asked, then thought for a second. "Then again, I already got paid, so I don't care."

"Fair enough," Shinji muttered. Allying with Mitsuko to win Takako over was probably the dumbest idea he'd ever entertained, but he was getting desperate. Takako was starting to be the only thing he could think about, he was seeing her everywhere and he would swear that his pillow was starting to look like her, which he hadn't told anyone else because it kind of creeped him out too.

Mitsuko rolled her eyes and took out a tube of lip gloss. "You know, you're my first customer who actually paid me _before_ I put out," she commented.

"Do I get an award?" Shinji asked, not particularly caring, and watching for Takako.

Mitsuko shrugged. "I do a '100th-customer-gets-a-free-blow' deal, but otherwise, no."

I could've lived the rest of my life without knowing that, Shinji thought, making a face and changing the subject to a more important matter, at least as far as he was concerned. "Do you see Takako anywhere?"

"I think you have a problem," Mitsuko said dryly.

"Coming from the sixteen-year-old prostitute, I don't think you've got the right to talk," Shinji snapped. "I'm not paying you to diagnose my hypothetical mental problems, I'm paying you to make the girl I'm crazy about viciously jealous! So pay attention!"

Mitsuko rolled her eyes and continued smacking on the lip gloss. "Whaaaaatever."

-

"Sugi! Hey, Sugi!"

Hiroki looked up from his book, annoyed at the familiar voice. "WHAT, Shuuya!?" He might be reluctantly speaking to Shuuya again, but the Shinji vs. Takako incidents had become a little too extreme to his likings. He was still pissed that his poor Wii had almost been destroyed in the process, not to mention his parents made HIM pay for the replacement window, not believing his story about how Takako broke it. They thought he was doing martial arts in his room again.

"Sugi, I need your help. Big time," Shuuya said, catching up to him, out of breath. "Mim's planning something and I need you to help—"

"Help with what? Help Mim pin up posters advertising what a whore my best friend is? Listen up, Shuuya, I know you're my friend but I can't believe you're going along with another one of Mim's schemes, he's being a total jackass and I can't believe you of all people would put up with it, I've never been so—"

"I need you to help me STOP one of Mim's stupid ideas! He's going way overboard here and I think he's really going to hurt Takako, EMOTIONALLY," Shuuya grumbled. "Look, I think she's crazy, but I don't want to hurt her, beyond pissing her off of course. Mim's hiring Mitsuko to pretend to be his NEW girlfriend to piss Takako off, and—"

Hiroki's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no. Oh, NO," he muttered. "Where's Takako?"

"I don't know! I figured you'd know!" Shuuya said. "Why the double oh no?"

"I can't explain, she's sworn me to secrecy," Hiroki said faintly. "Look, we've gotta find her, or find Mimura first so I can KILL HIM—"

"There she goes! TAKAKO!!" Shuuya hollered.

-

Takako thought she heard someone calling her, but shrugged it off. Probably another idiot. Then again, people hadn't been bugging her about her and Mimura anymore… maybe Mimura was out of ideas, or maybe he'd gotten bored messing with her and gave up.

Either way, although she sure as hell didn't miss the rumors, she had to admit—to herself, of course—that she did miss messing with Mimura. The last time they'd spoken, he might as well have proclaimed his love for her on the tallest building in school, but she'd completely blown him off, and truthfully she felt guilty for doing it.

The idea of her being in love with Mimura was ridiculous, but she had to admit that he wasn't as much of a idiot prick as she first thought. He was much smarter than she'd have ever given him credit for, he sure as hell could hold his ground against her, which Hiroki _still_ couldn't do, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't find him attractive.

…okay, he was really fucking hot, but that was as far as Takako was willing to go. And when he wasn't playing the crowds for attention, he was actually pretty sweet to her, like at Yukie's party. Never in a million years would she ever have guessed that while she was flat-out drunk at a party, that Mimura would go as far as to ensure she didn't get into any trouble, and bring her back to her house safely, especially after (she was humiliated to hear this from Shuuya of all people) she came onto him in her intoxicated state (which he'd responded to, hence Yukie's pictures) and threw up on him to boot.

Maybe he wasn't lying that last time, Takako thought for the thousandth time. Maybe Sugi's right, maybe he really does like me as much as he says he does, maybe I should just—

Takako froze.

-

"There goes Takako," Shinji said. "C'mon, Mitsuko, over here—" He grabbed his expensive, temporary, reluctant girlfriend by her wrist and pulled her in the direction parallel to where Takako was going, hoping to run into her along the way.

"Whatever," Mitsuko sighed. "Get this over with…"

-

"What the hell? Is she deaf or something?" Shuuya wondered.

"She probably recognizes your voice and is ignoring you, or she thinks you're another gossiping idiot. Why're we still calling her name? Let's chase after her or something," Hiroki grumbled, frustrated. "God dammit! What the hell's he thinking!? I thought you said Mim was crazy about Takako, why's he trying to hurt her?"

"Because he's a dick, that's why," Shuuya muttered. "He's so friggen arrogant. He thinks when Takako sees them together she's going to get all jealous and cry about how much she likes him or whatever. He already told her what he thinks about her, and she blew him off, so he's pissed."

"Well, let's see," Hiroki said sarcastically. "He's spent the last seven months trying to convince the entire school that they used to be dating slash sleeping together, and that she dumped him, and he's done nothing but pretend to proclaim his undying love for her in front of the actual school. How the hell was Takako supposed to know he was telling the truth that last time? Does he think she's an idiot?"

"Don't ask me, I'm trying to stop him here," Shuuya complained. "I thought he was bullshitting, and I knew he was telling the truth! Mim's not good with girls, he expects them to come chasing after him, and it figures the one girl who would never chase after him is the girl he falls for. He's so friggen stubborn it's going to get him murdered one day, and probably by Takako!"

"Takako's the same way," Hiroki sighed. "If Takako hated Mim as much as she says she does, he'd have been dead the minute she decided she hated him."

"I don't understand," Shuuya said.

"Alright, let me put it this way," Hiroki said. "If Mim were to shove his stupid pride aside, admit that he's lying about their whole dating history, tell Takako the truth, that he's in love with her, Takako would, without a doubt, go out with him, because that's all she wants him to do, pull his head out of his ass and tell the truth. But—"

"Mim would never do that, and Takako's not about to chase him, so she'd rather keep how she really feels hidden until he admits to it first," Shuuya realized. "But instead of just giving up, Mim's about to break her heart and ruin any chance he'll ever have of being with her."

"Pretty much, and looks like we're too late," Hiroki groaned, turning the corner and not liking what he was seeing at all. "Dear god, Shuuya…"

-

"What're you doing?" Takako asked suspiciously.

Shinji smirked at her. "What's it look like I'm doing? Hanging with my new gi—my gi—Mitsuko," he told her, unable to call Mitsuko his girlfriend in front of Takako. He told Shuuya he didn't care, but admittedly she hurt him big time when she blew him off the other day. Sure, he didn't mean it when he told her he was in love with her the fifteen other times he'd said it in front of the entire school, but the one time he really meant it, and wasn't acting, she thought he was.

_Well, I'll show YOU,_ Shinji thought, and slung his arm around Mitsuko's shoulders, hoping his arm wouldn't catch herpes or any other sexually transmitted disease Mitsuko probably had. "Is there a problem?" he asked innocently.

Mitsuko just watched blankly, sporting her best "I really wish I was having my head sawed off right now" expression.

Shinji figured because he told Mitsuko to pretend she was his girlfriend, and he didn't specifically tell her to say anything, she wasn't going to, which sucked, considering he had to think for himself here. Of course Mitsuko would use the "You didn't tell me I had to talk, so I'm not going to" approach… then again it'd probably cost extra to have her speak, so maybe it was for the best.

Takako was obviously struggling to say something with Mitsuko standing there. Shinji felt a little guilty for doing this to her, but knowing Takako she'd think of a quick response and leave him reeling trying to think of a better one. Shuuya and Mitsuko were probably right, Takako was going to think the fight was over and go back to the way things were before.

"Takako?" he asked hesitantly, because she still hadn't responded. Normally she would've said something by NOW… even Yutaka didn't think THIS slowly…

Takako shook her head angrily. "I can't believe you," she said, clenching her fist. In one fast motion, she punched Shinji in the chest—hard—and with her other hand, she broke something over his head before storming off in the opposite direction, wiping her eyes angrily, passing Shuuya and Hiroki, who were on their way over.

"Hey, nice job, douchebag," Mitsuko commented, shrugging his arm off her shoulder as though it was diseased. "You made her cry."

"No shit," Shinji said, desperately staring in the direction Takako ran off in, as if hoping she would turn around. Takako had hit him pretty damn hard, a lot harder than she had before; his chest was throbbing with pain, but he didn't care about that. He looked at the thing that she had hit him in the head with, and his eyebrows went up, seeing it was a chocolate bar.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Mitsuko said, tilting her head.

"What?" Shinji asked.

Mitsuko raised an eyebrow. "You don't know? It's Valentine's Day. Girls give chocolate to boys they like." She snorted. "You've never gotten chocolate on Valentine's Day?"

"I've never even heard of that!" Shinji said, "So you're telling me she actually DOES like me!? And I just told her YOU were my girlfriend!?"

"Well, isn't that what you wanted to happen?" Mitsuko asked. "You wanted her to get jealous? You wanted her to see the guy she's crazy about with another girl, to break her heart and make her cry? Hurt her emotionally in ways she can't even BEGIN to comprehend? Make her—"

Shinji shook his head furiously in interruption. "Alright, I get it! Would you shut up!?"

Mitsuko smiled evilly. "Hey, you're the one who broke her heart, you jerk. Denying it and acting like it'll fix itself isn't going to fix anything." She hit Shinji on top of his head and turned to leave. "Thanks for the money, though."

Shinji sat down on the stone stairs leading inside the school, wanting to jump in the river or off a nearby cliff for all it was worth. I never wanted to make her cry, he thought desperately, trying to convince himself he didn't do anything wrong and failing desperately. He groaned. I really am an asshole. I'm fucking scum. No, I'm not pond scum, I'm the kind of scum that grows ON pond scum.

"Well, I hope you're happy," said an angry, familiar voice. Shinji looked up to meet the angry glare of his best friend. "Before you even open that big mouth of yours, I saw everything. She was crying, Mim. You made her _cry_. Your stupid plan worked. And to answer your question, as of 5 minutes ago, Takako _was_ crazy about you. But you've got to be such an arrogant dick about everything, you want her to chase after you, and then when she doesn't, you break her heart like that?" Shuuya snarled, obviously enraged.

"It was payback," Shinji said angrily. "Shut the hell up, Shuuya, you've got no idea how I'm feeling. I feel like I'm below dog shit and I don't need your analysis of the situation to make me feel any worse than I already do. You know perfectly well how I feel about her, and when I told her she blew me off. She doesn't feel shit for me, so don't give me any of that bull."

"Has it occurred to you that you've told her you're in love with her thirty times now?" Shuuya said impatiently.

"The only time I ever told her I liked her was after leaving Sugi's place—"

"No, Mim. The only time you MEANT it when you told her you really liked her was after leaving Sugi's house. The other twenty-nine times occurred during the past seven months. Remember? Us busting into a room, screaming something about how Takako dumped you? Then you'd whine and cry about how much you still loved her, and she'd get up and leave?" Shuuya scowled.

"Yeah, but I meant it this time, it's not my fault she couldn't tell," Shinji said angrily. "Would you just get to the point?"

"The point is, Mim, you wouldn't even have fallen for Takako in the first place if it wasn't for the fact that she _wasn't _one of those crazy girls who used to stalk you and beg you to go out with them. And now all of a sudden you WANT her to chase you? You're such a dense idiot that you can't _tell _she likes you back? So instead to prove it to yourself that she likes you, you break her heart? She might have liked you before, Mim, but right now I'll bet you the same amount of money you paid Mitsuko that she's either over you or pretty damn close to being. Hope your ego's happy, by the way. Does big tough Mimura feel happy? He made a girl cry because he couldn't just tell her honestly how much he liked her?"

Shinji sighed miserably. "What the hell do I do now? Apologize?"

Shuuya gave him a look of pure disgust. "Gee, I don't know, asshole, why don't you sit here on your fucking ass and feel sorry for yourself for another twenty minutes?"

"Would you stop?" Shinji groaned. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of at a disadvantage when it comes to winning over girls—"

Shuuya laughed rudely. "Don't flatter yourself. YOSHI's bad at wooing a girl. YOU'RE dead awful at it. I'm through helping you, man, figure this one the fuck out for yourself. I'm gonna go see if I can find Takako and make sure she knows I had nothing to do with this."

Shinji watched his best friend leave, and sighed. His ego certainly didn't feel good; any sense of pride he had from making a girl chase him was completely drained away by the realization that he made the girl he was probably in love with cry. She'd never look at him again and, at the rate he was going, none of his friends ever would either.

-

While Shuuya yelled at Shinji for being a complete insensitive turd (knowing Shuuya, he probably used a bit more colorful a vocabulary than insensitive turd, but Hiroki was the nice one), Hiroki caught up with Takako, who was obviously crying, although she was trying very hard to hide it.

Hiroki didn't know what he wanted to do more at the time; kill Shinji or comfort Takako. Both options sounded appealing; but when Shuuya told him to go find Takako and he'd catch up later, he decided to go after her, although if he ran into Shinji later… well, Shinji'd better have one hell of an excuse or he'd be on the business end of a patented Hiroki Sugimura ass kicking.

"Takako, wait up," Hiroki called to her, already getting tired from following her. Takako had incredible endurance, and he didn't, to be blunt.

Takako turned around angrily, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I thought you were god damned Mimura," she said angrily, wiping her face savagely, leaving red marks on her face. "I knew he was lying! He's a fucking jackass! I can't believe how fucking STUPID I am!" She kicked the ground angrily. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Takako, calm down," Hiroki said, wanting to get closer but quite afraid she'd attack him. "Shuuya's yelling at him right now, he's—"

"He's Mimura's fucking yes-man butt-buddy, Sugi, what the hell do you think he's going to say!? Congratulate him on a job well done?" Takako snarled, wiping her face again. "He's just as bad as Mimura is! They probably planned this!"

"I know you're not going to believe this, but in Shuuya's defense, he told Mimura not to go through with this, and when he found out about it he tried to tell me so we could find you and warn you in time," Hiroki said quickly.

"Go through with what?" Takako asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously, but Shuuya showed up, looking pissed off.

"Well, I didn't make him cry, but I told him what a dick he was, he sure looked guilty. It was fun, actually," Shuuya said triumphantly. Seeing Takako's quite plain glare of death aimed right at him, he gulped. "Takako, I'm sorry, I tried to stop him, but—"

"SAVE IT," Takako growled.

"Are you…" Shuuya looked nervous. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Maybe," Takako snapped. "Just go away!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going, consider me a—" Shuuya turned to leave but Hiroki grabbed his arm.

"Shuuya, isn't there something you'd like to say to Takako?" Hiroki asked, glaring at him.

"I'm sorry?" Shuuya offered. Takako looked disgusted and he sighed. Clearly he would have to do a lot more than apologize to make up for all the damage he'd caused, but he had no idea what Hiroki was talking about.

"Takako, excuse us," Hiroki told her, and pulled Shuuya off to the the side. "Shu, you're Mim's best friend—"

"Before he became a dick—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, but look, he tells you everything, isn't there something you can tell Takako to cheer her up any?"

"I can tell her the story of when Mim pissed his pants at the Star Festival last year—"

"I MEAN, tell her that—"

"JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR MOUTHS DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE WHISPERING!!" Takako screamed. "I can hear you, Sugi, god dammit, and I don't need any of YOUR stupid pity, Nanahara! Don't think I've forgotten all the bullshit Mimura's pulled this year, and you were causing half the damage!"

"I only did it for a laugh, I'm sorry," Shuuya said, "Takako, I really am sorry for all this, I never thought it would've escalated so far or I never would have gone along with it all this time—half the time I spent telling Mim he was crazy! Seriously!"

Takako wasn't buying it. "GET OUT OF HERE!" she shouted.

"Oh come on!! I'm not the real bad guy here! I'm just the good-looking accomplice who needs to learn to say NO!!" Shuuya protested.

"Takako, please. Shuuya's Mim's best friend—"

"Before he became a dick!" Shuuya added.

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you the first time, Shuuya! There's gotta be something Shuuya can say that can help you get back at him," Hiroki said, exasperation lacing his words. "Shuuya, maybe you can tell her, because she absolutely will not listen to me. What's Mim's motivation here?"

"He's lost his mind," Shuuya said, rolling his eyes. "Takako, Mim's crazy about you, if you just talked to him maybe you two could work out a truce or whatever—"

"Are you insane? He hooked up with Mitsuko of all people! He's a gutless pussy, I can't believe he stooped as low as MITSUKO to make me jealous!" Takako said, looking disgusted.

"Well, it worked," Shuuya said, and Hiroki glared death at him.

Takako apparently didn't hear this and continued. "All bets are off, I don't give a shit how much he swears he likes me, after this little episode I'm done, I'm not putting up with this any longer," she scowled.

"Takako—"

"Don't 'Takako' me!" Takako said angrily. "If anything I've half a mind to beat the hell out of Mitsuko too!!" She scanned the area, apparently looking for her new prey.

Hiroki and Shuuya exchanged glances worriedly. Technically, Mitsuko hadn't done anything except rip Mimura off, and Shuuya had to admit HE probably would pretend to be Shinji's girlfriend if he was paid 10,000 yen to do so. After all he'd pretended to be the ACTUAL Mimura for free.

Unfortunately for Mitsuko, they'd left the minor detail that _she had been paid _out, and it looked like it was too late.

"THERE YOU ARE!!" Takako shouted, and with animal-like speed and apparently hawk-like vision, because Hiroki and Shuuya didn't see anything, she tore off in the direction Mitsuko apparently was.

"100 yen says Mitsuko's dead," Shuuya said worriedly. "Uh oh… well, at least it's only Mitsuko… nobody cares if she dies or not…"

"This is the worst day of my life," Hiroki groaned. "Come on, if we go now we'll be able to identify Mitsuko's corpse…"

-

I considered making the chapter a bit longer, and then I changed my mind. Good stuff coming in the next chapter, I didn't want to squash it all in.

Half of me thinks going a bit more dramatic-y is a bad idea, especially for a primarily humor story, but whatever, the goofing around needs to come to an end anyway. So for the moment we have this. :D

In the next chapter of BR WTF, we have—Takako vs Mitsuko, Shogo Kawada makes an appearance again, and someone goes to the hospital!


	23. Takako vs Mitsuko

Manga and book Ikumi Mimura is two years younger than Shinji, but I messed with her age to make her younger since it fits the story better.

-

"So the dumbass PAID you 10,000 yen to stand next to him for five minutes?" Hirono Shimizu asked incredulously.

"Yup," Mitsuko said, counting the bills. "I swear, who needs education when I can make a living off stupid, desperate guys? 'Cept this one really WAS a desperate idiot…"

"_Damn! _Does he need any other help?" Hirono asked with a chuckle.

"Never thought I'd see the day when Shinji Mimura couldn't get a girl he liked," Yoshimi Yahagi said incredulously. "I mean, every girl in school—cept for us, and Takako, I guess—is like in love with him! Why'd he pick YOU, Mitsu?"

"Hell if I know," Mitsuko rolled her eyes, "But who cares. Anyone up for a manicure?"

"Sure," Hirono and Yoshimi agreed. Mitsuko stood up, but apparently didn't see Hurricane Takako coming.

"YOU BITCH!" Takako screamed, and proceeded to tackle Mitsuko in mid-air, causing both of them to go soaring towards the ground.

"AAAGH!! GET OFF ME!" Mitsuko shrieked, having been caught off-guard therefore rendered useless. "Hirono, DO SOMETHING! Get her the fuck off me!!"

Hirono carried a pocket knife, but honestly speaking she was too scared to get within range of Takako's murderous fury and Amazon-like strength, despite the fact that Mitsuko was being pulverized.

"OW! Get off, you crazy bitch!" Mitsuko screamed, landing a punch on Takako's face and trying to throw the enraged girl off her.

"Yeah! Chick fight!" yelled some guy from another class.

"Woo! Take your top off!" his friend cheered.

Takako was so angry she was getting careless, and Mitsuko was able to kick her off. However, Mitsuko Souma wasn't one to go down without a fight in return, so she promptly stood up, avoided Takako's punch and hit her in the stomach.

"What the hell's your problem!?" Mitsuko shouted, shoving Takako off her.

"FUCK YOU!" Takako screamed back, tackling Mitsuko into the ground and cocking her fist back, to smash into Mitsuko's face. Mitsuko yelped and jerked her head to the side, and Takako's fist hit the ground. Mitsuko sprung her legs upward and kicked Takako in the stomach, knocking the crazed girl off her.

"ARE YOU TWO USELESS BITCHES GOING TO DO ANYTHING!?" Mitsuko screamed at Hirono and Yoshimi, who were hesitant to join the fight despite their loyalty to Mitsuko. Both looked on with awe as the two girls beat the living daylights out of one another, Mitsuko's strikes evolving from self-defense to intended death as her anger increased.

By now, there was a huge crowd gathered, most of them boys who heard two of the prettiest girls in the school were currently beating the hell out of each other. Yoshimi was covering her eyes with her hands, and Hirono was considering stabbing Takako in the leg when she got close enough, although she missed the opportunity about seven times now.

Finally, Shogo Kawada, the tough exchange student with the scar, broke through the crowds and hollered, "ENOUGH!!"

Takako and Mitsuko didn't seem to notice, although the now-terrified bystanders stopped screaming lewd remarks instantly.

Shogo rolled his eyes and with one hand grabbed each girl by her arm, pulling them off each other. Both girls' faces were bloodied and bruised; Takako's skirt was torn from her waistband down, and the left arm of Mitsuko's blouse had been ripped off. Takako's injuries were mostly scratch marks and bruises, aside from a few large chunks of skin missing in her left arm, clearly from Mitsuko's long nails. Mitsuko had been beaten worse, and was bleeding quite a bit.

"You're scaring the birds!" Shogo growled. "Clear off, all of you!"

Mitsuko jerked her arm free from Shogo. "What's the matter with you!? I swear to God, if this is about god damned Mimura—"

"What about Mimura!?" Takako shouted back.

"I'm not dating him for real, you dumb bitch!! He paid me 10,000 yen to pretend to be his girlfriend to make YOU jealous!! He's too pussy for my tastes anyway!" Mitsuko shouted, and without another word, stormed off. Yoshimi and Hirono exchanged nervous glances and followed after her, Yoshimi picking up Mitsuko's abandoned bag.

"TAKAKO!" Hiroki cried, seeing Takako and Shogo, who hadn't left yet. "What happened!?"

Takako looked like she felt like she was the recipient of the 'stupidest person of the year' award. Finally, she said, in a low voice that terrified Hiroki and Shuuya more than her yelling ever would, "Did you two forget to tell me something?"

"Takako, you ran off before we could—"

"Mimura paid Mitsuko to pretend to be his girlfriend to make me jealous," Takako said calmly, wiping her bloody face and wincing. "And guess what else she said?"

Too afraid to ask, Shuuya and Hiroki stared at her, hoping she couldn't smell fear.

"SHE DIDN'T SAY THIS, BUT YOU TWO ARE THE DUMBEST IDIOTS I'VE EVER MET!! DON'T YOU GIVE ME THAT LOOK, HIROKI, YOU COULD'VE SAID SOMETHING TOO!" Takako yelled furiously. "WHY DIDN'T YOU IDIOTS TELL ME HE WASN'T _REALLY_ DATING HER!?"

"We didn't get the chance to," Shuuya said quickly, "But hey, at least you got to beat up Mitsuko, right?"

"Oh for the love of God, is this about all the Mimura bullshit that's going on!?" Shogo groaned, apparently giving up on his bird watching and pocketing his little whistle. "I don't even know the guy, and I'm sick of hearing about this bullshit! Mimura this and Takako that—" He glared at Takako. "I assume you're Takako?"

"Yes, I AM," Takako scowled, "And I'd shut your mouth if I were you, jackass, because—"

"She means, thanks for breaking up the fight," Hiroki said quickly, not wanting to antagonize the huge guy, but Takako punched him in the arm angrily.

"No, I don't! Shut up and don't talk for me!" Takako said furiously, and turned to Shogo, jabbing him in the chest and poking raw muscle. "I appreciate you getting Mitsuko away from me before I killed her, because I'm not in the mood to go to prison for the rest of my life, but—" she scowled and let out a loud groan. "I'm yelling at the wrong person. I'm sorry, Kawada."

"No, please continue, I love being screamed at by girls half my height," Shogo muttered, rolling his eyes sarcastically. "I've seen it all, don't mention it."

"If we paid you enough, would you beat Mimura up for us?" Hiroki asked, looking excited.

Shogo seemed to be considering the offer. "How much?" he asked.

Takako scowled. "I'm not going to hire someone to beat Mimura up, that'll be a waste of money, I'd just do it myself," she snapped.

"I've got an idea," Shogo piped up. "But you might not like it. Takako, Mimura's brilliant plan to make you jealous by using Mitsuko backfired in his face, because you found out, right? Well, what if you tried the same thing back at him, but made it more convincing? For example, the guy you were pretending to go out with was convincing too?"

Takako frowned. "I don't wanna stoop as low as Mimura did. Besides, it wouldn't work."

"Sure it will," Shuuya said brightly, grinning at Shogo appreciatively, "if you act it out right."

Takako frowned. "The whole point of this is to end this stupid charade, the last thing I want to do is encourage it—"

"No," Shuuya interrupted, "the conditions for victory have changed. The new goal is to get you and Mim together for good this time, so you stop fighting this stupid war. Now, c'mon, what do you say? Want to give it a shot?"

"Depends," Takako said. "Who's going to be my pretend boyfriend? No offense, but Sugi's nowhere near good enough an actor—"

"We're not talking about Sugimura, Takako, we're talking about someone else. Someone who, if Mimura sees you with, will drive him so insane he'll completely lose his mind and you'll have him at your mercy," Kawada told her.

"I do like the idea of that," Takako admitted. "Alright, I'll bite. Who do you have in mind?"

Kawada grinned and pointed. "This one here."

"ME!?" Shuuya wailed.

-

Shinji shook his head angrily, trying to clear the burning thoughts in his head but failing. He still felt guilty; he tried thinking about everything he could think of, literally, but everything wound back to Takako with tears in her eyes.

He literally felt like shit. Takako was so tough, so strong, so unbreakable, and the thought that he of all people had been the one to breach her toughness and make her cry was really twisting at his insides. Feeling like he was going to be sick, Shinji decided to go home where his conscience could at least torment him in the privacy of his own room. He got up and trudged in the direction of his house, when an enraged, deranged bloody mess jumped in front of him.

"YOU!" the mess shouted, and Shinji recognized it to be Mitsuko. "YOU REALIZE WHAT YOUR PSYCHO GIRLFRIEND DID TO ME!?"

Shinji gave her a blank look, which apparently pissed Mitsuko off even more. "She attacked me, that's what!" she snarled. "Thanks to your stupid plan, she went crazy and took it out on MY face! Lucky for me I know how to fight, or I'd be dead right now!"

"What'd you do to Takako!? You better not have hurt her!" Shinji retorted, before he was able to stop himself.

Mitsuko looked like she'd quite like to kill him. "I knocked the shit out of her," she informed him, "but if she EVER—EVER—EVER comes within 10 feet of me again, I swear to GOD I'll hire someone to kill her, and believe me, I'm perfectly capable of carrying that threat out, because I already did it to my mother—I mean, uh, DO YOU HEAR ME, MIMURA!?"

"Whatever," Shinji said, and Mitsuko, enraged that her threats didn't seem to be having much of an effect, pulled her fist back and punched him clean in the face.

Shinji's nose hadn't fully recovered from the last punch to the face he'd received less than twenty-four hours ago, but he barely felt the crunch of his nose or the blood oozing from it. He shoved past her, ignoring her screeching, and continued on home.

Before going inside, he hastily wiped the fountain of blood coming from his nose on his sleeve, not in the mood to be questioned about what happened. Instead, the blood left a bright red stain on his white school shirt. Luckily, nobody was home except his little sister; once again, Shinji rolled his eyes in disgust at the ridiculous antics of his parents, who left a nine-year-old little girl at home alone, but today he was glad to escape the interrogation from his mother about whether or not he'd been fighting again.

"Hi Shinji," Ikumi Mimura called from the couch, waving at him. "Guess what?"

"Whatever it is, I'm sure I don't care," Shinji said shortly, and hated himself even more for being nasty to the only human being who was currently talking to him, his little sister of all people.

Ikumi's face fell and once again his insides churned with guilt for the dozenth time that day. "Sorry, Ikumi," he told her, coming to sit on the couch next to her. His sister was possibly the happiest kid he knew; if anyone would cheer him up, or make him feel a bit less pathetic, it'd be her. "I just had a bad day. What's up?"

"Mommy and Daddy are fighting again," she told him, "but that's okay, since Mommy told me I could stay here with you until she got back!"

"Mom left?" Shinji asked incredulously. "Great. Where's Dad?"

"I dunno. He said something about another lady and a hotel," Ikumi said, looking at him curiously. "Shinji, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Shinji told her, scowling. "I had a bad day, let's leave it at that."

"You're always mad," Ikumi whined, "and you never wanna play anymore."

Guilty feelings were back. "Alright, what do you wanna play?" Shinji asked, desperate for human contact.

"What happened to your nose?" she asked suddenly.

Shinji's hand went to his nose automatically. Seeing his hand was covered in blood, he yelped. "Oh, SHIT!" he swore angrily. "God dammit! That bitch broke my nose!"

Remembering his sister was watching him, he sighed. "Uh, Ikumi, I've got an idea for a game, let's play 'Let's go to the emergency room'," he grumbled, touching his nose and wincing with pain. "Oww!"

"Shinji!!" Ikumi said, looking scared, "what's wrong?"

"My nose is broken," he finally told her, "I, uh, got in a fight. Look, I need to go to the hospital, and I guess you've gotta come too. Sorry, kiddo, I know you had other plans, but—"

"Uh uh," Ikumi told him, grabbing his clean hand. "I just wanna spend time with you anyway."

Shinji couldn't help but grin at that. Well, at least someone still liked him!

-

Argh, if I could I'd go back and rewrite this whole story, but whatever. This chapter is mostly a YES I AM STILL ALIVE, the next chapter will be longer.  Cheers!


	24. Chigusa Clinic of Horror

Hooray for… whatever chapter this is, 24? I rock.

-

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!" Shinji shouted, pounding his fists on the cot he was sitting on.

"I'm afraid not. Now stop squirming," the doctor told him.

"I'm not going out in public with this thing on my face!!" Shinji hollered, aware he was acting like a two-year-old, but giving much of a shit either—sure, his rep as Shiroiwa's sexy playboy basketball superstar waned more and more each day, _thank you, Takako_, but _still_! Whatever was _left_ of the shadow of his reputation, he'd like to preserve.

"That's what happens to people who get into fights and get their noses broken, young man," the doctor scowled. "If you don't want to wear the brace, it's fine, but your nose isn't going to heal properly."

"I don't care! Hell could freeze over tomorrow and I still wouldn't wear that!" Shinji shouted. He glanced at his sister, who was clearly trying not to giggle. "Ikumi, don't I look stupid?" he demanded.

Ikumi clearly didn't know how to respond; she didn't want to hurt her brother's feelings, but he looked so ridiculous she couldn't help but giggle, which gave Shinji his answer.

Shinji scowled. "Get it off me," he said shortly.

"No! You came to my office for treatment!" the doctor said. "What do you want me to do, son, give you a miracle potion?"

"I'm not wearing this stupid thing, I look retarded!" Shinji whined, his voice cracking. The giggles of a nine-year-old filled the room and Shinji glared at his sister.

"Son, either you take the brace, or you go home, because I have other patients," the doctor informed him. "Either way, it's a 5,000 yen charge for my time."

"I don't HAVE 5,000 yen!!" Shinji cried. "I have to pay YOU for making ME look retarded!?"

"Well, then—"

"Daddy?" said a little girl, opening the door. "Daddy, where's—" she took one look at Shinji and started laughing.

Shinji groaned. Oh, what the hell was the point of even _getting _pissed off. Stay frosty, Shinji, stay frosty!

"Excuse me," the doctor said quickly, turning to the little girl. "Ayako, what's wrong, honey?"

"Daddy, I'm hungry," she whined, and glanced at Shinji again. "He looks really stupid, Daddy—"

Shinji's eyes widened in horror. Not at what the little brat said—he agreed with her—but who she LOOKED like. Her hair was dark brown, but she looked just like Takako, only younger. Same eyes, same nose, same EVERYTHING!!

His first reaction, sadly, was _Takako shrunk_!!!!! But then that genius mind of his (cough, cough) kicked in and put some pieces together.

He knew Takako's parents were both doctors… Shinji stared in horror at the doctor again and nearly screamed. The guy had the same nose as Takako and the little brat did; this guy was her DAD, no doubt about it… ohhhh, man… Sure as shit, the nametag Shinji hadn't seen a minute ago read "Dr. Rei Chigusa, M.D.".

SHIT! I need to start READING!

"Uh, doctor, sir, I'm starting to feel better," Shinji said quickly, now wanting to get the hell out of this Chigusa house of horror. "Uh, I won't be needing any medical… assistance, I think my nose is feeling better—"

"Oh stop it," Dr. Chigusa, as Shinji now knew him as, said. "Would you relax, the brace'll be off in about a week, and it's not even that noticeable. Now hold still while I make the adjustments."

Shinji VERY RELUCTANTLY let Takako's father—half of the reason she was alive, in other words—set the brace on his nose, annoyed by the sound of little girl laughter (since Takako's sister had teamed up with Ikumi—TRAITOR!—and they were both giggling now), and glared at his reflection in the mirror.

"Son, you have any parents?" Dr. Chigusa asked, eying him suspiciously.

"Yeah," Shinji said, "but they're not home and I don't know when either of them'll be back."

"Well, I'll tell you what," Dr. Chigusa said reluctantly, "come back in two weeks and I'll accept payment then. Think you can scrounge up some money by then?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure," Shinji said, surprised. "You'd really let me pay on credit?"

"I'm a doctor, son, I can't deny service to anyone," Dr. Chigusa told him, patting his back. "Alright… just leave your name and phone number with my wife and we'll get you sorted out. Alright?"

"Thanks a lot," Shinji told him, feeling a bit relieved. He still looked ridiculous, but at least he wouldn't be thrown in jail for trying to rip off a doctor or whatever. Only he was dumb enough to come to a doctor's office without any money. "C'mon, Ikumi…"

Ikumi said goodbye to Takako's sister (good riddance) and Dr. Chigusa was talking to a woman who looked quite a bit like Takako (obviously Takako's mom), and she turned towards him with a smile.

"Feeling okay?" she asked him.

"To be honest, no," Shinji told her. If anything, he felt worse than before. Takako's parents were doing him a huge favor, and the only reason his nose was broken was because he was being a jerk to their daughter. He felt like he was gonna be sick…

"Well, I know it looks stupid, but keep that brace on or your nose'll never heal properly," the OTHER Dr. Chigusa said. "My older daughter broke her nose when she was four and she absolutely hated wearing her own brace, but it's for your own benefit to keep it on."

Shinji gulped nervously. Oh, boy… guilty feelings…

"Okay. What's your name?" Mrs. Dr. Chigusa asked him.

Shinji paled nervously. What if Takako had told her parents about him? His mouth trembling, he managed to stammer out his name, which made Mrs. Dr. Chigusa look at him strangely.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. "You look like you're shivering…"

"I'm fine," Shinji said quickly, although he was grateful to not be recognized. "Um, my number's 345-5443…"

Dr. Mrs. Chigusa scribbled all this down and smiled. "Alright, that'll do it," she told him. "See you in a few weeks… and keep that thing on, alright?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," Shinji said nervously, and Ikumi looked at him strangely. She grabbed his hand and made a face.

"Eww," she whined, "your hand's all sweaty!"

"You might be running a fever," Dr. Mrs. Chigusa said, hearing Ikumi, "maybe I'll call my husband back—"

"NO! I'm fine, really," Shinji said quickly, "my sister's delusional, she—"

Dr. Chigusa had apparently heard the commotion and came out. "What's wrong—oh, you again?" he asked, eying Shinji. "What's the trouble now?"

"I think he's got a fever, Rei," Dr. Mrs. Chigusa said, "but he refuses to let us check him out again…"

"He's a stubborn one," Dr. Chigusa said, "c'mere, son, let me check…" He put his hand on Shinji's forehead and made a face. "Well, you're certainly a sweaty one, but you're not running a fever, you're all clammy. You look nervous, if anything… are you lying to us here?" He picked up the form Dr. Mrs. Chigusa had written his information on. "Wait a minute… Shinji Mimura? I've heard that name before…"

Shinji's eyes widened in horror. Oh god, here it comes. He sprinted to the bathroom Ikumi had used earlier, burst through the door, leaned over the sink, and proceeded to puke his guts out, barely noticing the girl sitting on the toilet until he'd finished.

Breathing heavily through his mouth, since his nose was kind of out of commission, he noticed the now-dressed girl staring at him. "Sorry," he said, humiliated, "I'm—" He froze.

It was Takako.

-

When someone burst into the door of the bathroom she'd stupidly left unlocked, Takako thought to holler something vulgar. However, before she could get a scream out, she watched as Shinji Mimura of all people collapsed in front of the sink and proceeded to throw up in a horrific manner that looked almost painful. Doubting he'd even noticed her, she pulled her ripped school skirt back up around her hips and stared at him.

"Sorry," he said, realizing he'd burst in on someone, wiping his mouth on his hand and breathing heavily, "I'm—" he froze, obviously realizing who it was he just busted in on.

As angry and upset at him as she was, Takako couldn't help but feel sorry for how miserable and pathetic he was looking. Like, super pathetic. Super fail. His nose had apparently gotten broken somehow, and he was obviously not feeling well, judging by the spectacular display he'd left in the sink.

Shinji hadn't taken his eyes off her, looking like he was going to say something but had no idea how to say it. "Takako," he said softly, "I—"

The doorknob rattled, and Takako put her finger to her lips and jumped inside the bathroom closet. It was a squeeze but, as angry as she was at him, she didn't want him getting in trouble with her parents, especially when he was already sick.

Takako heard her dad, obviously concerned, pull Shinji out of the bathroom and drag him back into the medical room to check him out again, and she sighed angrily.

What's the matter with me, she thought angrily. She wanted to hate him, she wanted to be angry at him… she glared at the sink, which was currently filled with Mimura puke, and she scowled again.

-

"I didn't mean to scare you, Shinji," Dr. Chigusa said apologetically, "I just recognized your name, is all. You're in the papers all the time, you know. Basketball prodigy, eh?"

"Umm, yeah… I just ate something bad, that's all," Shinji muttered, embarrassed as hell. He'd just puked in someone else's sink and walked in on Takako when she was in the bathroom, but surprisingly enough she didn't seem like she wanted to kill him, either. Maybe if he tried talking to her he'd have enough time to say what he wanted to say before she laid a justified smack down on his sorry ass.

"Well, stay here and rest for a little while until you feel better," Dr. Chigusa told him firmly. "Do you know my daughter, Takako? She goes to the same school as you do… how old are you, sixteen?"

"Yeah," Shinji said, hoping this wasn't a trick question. "She's in my class."

"Oh. Well, she was in a fight today at school, too," Dr. Chigusa said thoughtfully, "although she won't tell me what happened to her. Teenagers, I tell you… well, get some rest." He left the room, leaving Shinji to his guilt trip again.

Takako had had a couple bandages on her face, and her left arm was bandaged too. Whatever she did to Mitsuko, Mitsuko apparently paid her back for it. Which is my fault too, Shinji reminded himself. This might've possibly been the worst day of his life.

He just wanted to get the hell out of there. He knew why he felt so sick; it was a combination of feeling guilty as hell, eating too much food at lunch, and having Takako's parents being so nice to him, when all the while he was perfectly aware he'd hurt Takako AND was responsible for her being injured physically too. At least she wasn't hurt too badly… she definitely came out of her fight in better shape. He knew Mitsuko's beating was due to her involvement in his stupid plan, and he knew if Takako found him instead of Mitsuko, he'd be dead right now.

"Shinji, you feeling better?" Ikumi asked, tapping his shoulder.

"No, I feel like sh—bad," Shinji said, remembering he shouldn't curse in front of his little sister. "I think I ate something that didn't agree with me…"

"Maybe it was the shrimp rice you cooked yesterday for dinner," Ikumi said thoughtfully. "It was kind of icky… Should I call Mommy and tell her you don't feel good?"

"Might as well, considering she's gotta fork over 5,000 yen for my nose," Shinji agreed reluctantly. "But then she's gonna bug me about how I got my nose broken. Don't say anything to her, alright?"

"Okay," Ikumi said, "but how will you pay the doctor back?"

"I'll figure something out," Shinji said shortly. "I don't want her pestering me is all."

"Okay. Feel better," Ikumi told him, and went off.

"You shouldn't have any trouble raising 5,000 yen," a familiar voice said from the doorway, "seeing as you got 10,000 for Mitsuko pretty fast."

Shinji groaned, recognizing the speaker perfectly well and not wanting to turn around to face her. He knew he had to talk to her, he owed her an apology… but he was also still angry as ever at her for blowing him off all the time. If she didn't have any feelings for him she could at least tell him as much, so he could leave her alone with his dignity intact. But instead she had to screw with his brain, make him think she was interested, when all she wanted was—

"How'd your nose get broken?" she asked coolly.

"Mitsuko," Shinji muttered.

"So I guess you two broke up," she said nastily. Shinji waited for her to say something else, but she didn't. Figuring she left, he cautiously glanced over his shoulder and yelped. She hadn't left.

"Nice brace," she said, a smirk on her lips. "Looks good on you."

Shinji bit his bottom lip to keep from retorting, knowing perfectly well she had him where she wanted him and was planning on torturing him.

He felt her hand on his forehead, brushing his tousled hair away from his sweaty forehead. Normally this was a kind gesture, however he was perfectly aware she had other motives. Evil ones. He averted his gaze from hers, feeling her eyes watching him, wanting nothing more than for her to go away.

"I can't believe the coincidences here," Takako said, in a sarcastically pleasant voice, cupping his face in her hand and running her thumb across his lower lip. "You use a girl to hurt me… I get into a street fight with said girl… we beat the hell out of each other, and somewhere along the way, she breaks your nose. And then—here's the great part—you come to the hospital to get help, and my dad, head of the emergency ward in the hospital, ends up patching up your damn nose. Oh, the irony."

Shinji turned away from her. Takako scowled. She'd wanted to make him as miserable as she was, but when you were already on rock bottom there wasn't much lower you could sink. Reluctantly deciding to leave him alone, she turned to leave, just as angry and confused as she'd been when she came in earlier.

"I'm sorry…" Shinji mumbled. She's probably already left, he thought with a sigh. He closed his eyes and let out his breath through his mouth. His nose was too clogged up to breathe out of it.

She hadn't left yet.

"What?"

Shinji jumped and sat up again. "What what?"

"What'd you just say?" Takako asked, turning to face him, her hands on her hips.

"I said I'm sorry," Shinji said, not taking his eyes off the floor. "Takako, I'm sorry. I went too far."

"Yeah, you did," Takako said, and Shinji looked up at her. Her eyes narrowed. "Don't give me that look. You know what, Shinji, I don't know why, but this morning I was planning on giving you an answer."

Shinji's eyebrows shot up.

"I kept wondering why you'd been avoiding me all day, and then I find you all cuddling up with Mitsuko." She folded her arms. "I shouldn't be too surprised. Sugi and Shuuya told me at least five times that you're just an idiot, and tried to convince me that you really did like me. And when I got into that fight with Mitsuko, I realized something."

Shinji looked at her expectantly. "What?"

Takako scowled. "Took you long enough. Right before Kawada broke us up, right before Mitsuko cut my face with her stupid nails, I realized what I wish I had months ago." She walked right up to him, and leaned so close to him Shinji thought she was going to kiss him.

"You're not worth it," she shouted, and Shinji jumped nearly five feet into the air, rolling backwards on the bed to get away from her.

"What?" Shinji asked, almost convinced he heard her wrong.

Takako folded her arms. "You heard me! You're not worth it! After all this bullshit this year—which was all YOUR fault!—you show for maybe an hour that you're not a complete asshole, and then just as I start to realize you're not all bad you go and prove me wrong. Well I'm sick of the drama and I'm sick of the confusion and I'm sick of feeling like this! And even if something was to happen and we stopped this stupid war—"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Shinji shouted, finding his voice and his balls. "I'm not worth it!? ME!? I'm the problem here?! What about you leading me on!?"

"I never led you on!" Takako snapped, her hands returning to her hips.

"Like hell you didn't! The last time I kissed you, you kissed me right back!" Shinji said angrily.

"I always do!" Takako shouted. "You're a douchebag, but the only time I can stand being around you is when you're kissing me!"

"Don't interrupt me! I told you I liked you, I told you how much I wanted you and you took off!" Shinji argued, glaring at her.

Takako glared right back. "Oh, well excuse me for being suspicious if the son-of-a-bitch who's been harassing me all year suddenly falls in love with me!! Like hell I was supposed to see THAT coming!? For all I know you're just trying to sweet talk me out of my panties, you just want to get your rocks off and I'm the only girl you HAVEN'T fucked already at this school!"

"You know what?" Shinji said, standing up off the bed. "I'm done."

"And where are you going?" Takako held her glare. "My dad hasn't discharged you yet."

Shinji turned away from her. "Get lost."

Takako folded her arms. "Sure, sabotage my reputation at school and then escape on my dad's watch. You're something else."

Shinji eyed the open window, and took a few steps backwards.

Takako's eyes widened. "Wait. Shinji, what're you—"

Shinji jumped out the window.

"You idiot!" Takako shouted, "You're on the second—" She winced at the sound of Shinji hitting the sidewalk. "Floor," she finished.

"OWWW!"

-

Shinji is such a drama queen XD

God, this is kind of a short chapter, isn't it? XD Sorry guys! But there'll be another one in a few days I proooomise


	25. The Little Man Pulls Through

And now for BR WTF ch25? 25, is it?

I'm seeing five more chapters, maybe six, with this one. As you all know, all good things must come to an end; that and I am lazy and ready to move onto bigger/better/more R-rated things (kidding about that last one—OR AM I? D).

Well considering Motored was a R (M sounds stupid, R it is!), s'not too surprising I dally in the more adult themed stuff every now and then. Adult with _comedy_, of course! ;D

And without further ado, I present to you… chapter 22! Just kidding, it is chapter 25, you're not experiencing vertigo, I just wanted to keep up the rhyme scheme.

-

"I am going to ask you an intelligent question that reflects my medical expertise," said Dr. Chigusa, furrowing his brow, "_why_ in the name of God's green earth did you jump out of the window, son!?"

Because your daughter is a mildly psychotic but totally hot bitch who's been yanking my chain all this year even though I started it. But I'll only admit that at gunpoint.

No, that wasn't what Shinji said; it was what he _wanted _to say, it was what he wanted to scream to the heavens already, just to get it off his chest, but he sure as hell wasn't going to announce that to her father, of all people. Especially when that rather frightening display of medical syringes was gleaming in the florescent lighting.

This whole situation stunk of 'do not want'. Shinji just sighed. "Teenage angst?" he offered.

Dr. Chigusa rolled his eyes, wrapping Shinji's brand new arm cast with blue gauze. "tell me another one, son."

"Okay, fine," said Shinji, "completely honest, doctor-patient confidentiality? I fell out."

"You fell out," said Dr. Chigusa.

"Yes."

Dr. Chigusa just sighed. "Well, regardless, you'd better start being more careful, young man. Not many people are so lucky to _fall_ from the second floor and only break their arm!"

"I'm left handed," Shinji realized suddenly, "oh, _fuck_!"

"Son!" said Dr. Chigusa, scowling.

"My life just got worse!" complained Shinji, "arghhh!"

Dr. Chigusa just muttered something along the lines of 'troublesome teenagers' and 'glad my chromosomes made _girls_', as he left the room. The door hadn't been shut for four Mississippis (eight seconds?) before it opened again.

And sure as shit, here was Takako, her expression—actually, pretty unreadable, for once.

"You _idiot_," said Takako, scowling, "how stupid are you!?"

Shinji just ignored her, getting off the bed and stretching his left arm out experimentally, and wincing. "Ow."

"Good going, by the way, jumping," said Takako, folding her arms over her chest, "gonna jump again?"

Shinji looked up at her, his eyes narrowed; he crossed the distance between them in a few quick strides and kissed her. Takako's eyes widened in surprise. She meant to shove him off her; but instead she wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed him back.

Shinji pulled away from her much too quickly for her liking, and an awkward silence filled the room. Saying Takako was confused was the understatement of the century, like it usually was when it came to Shinji Mimura, of course, but before she could ask him anything, he left.

Takako sat down on the abandoned hospital bed and dug her phone out of her pocket. She wasn't aware she was crying until her tears landed on the cell phone's screen and blurred the display.

-

"No, really, I've been here long enough," Shinji told Dr. Chigusa, who looked reluctant to let what he thought was a sick person out. "I'm fine… I just ate something that didn't agree with me…"

He grabbed Ikumi by her hand—annoyed to see her swapping numbers with Takako's sister, her new friend—and after thanking Dr. Chigusa again, he left.

"Why'd we have to go so early?" Ikumi complained. "Don't you have to wait until your arm is fixed?"

"Because…" Shinji considered telling his little sister why he was so pissed lately, but decided not to. She was still a kid; it was probably best not to corrupt her young mind with teenage crap.

"Don't worry about it," he told her. "Look, tell you what, I'll take you to McDonalds if you're hungry, I have enough money for THAT."

"Okay!" Ikumi agreed happily.

-

"So he actually said he was sorry?" Hiroki asked incredulously. "And then he jumped out of the window!?"

"I don't care if he did!" Takako said fiercely, "He didn't mean it! And he only jumped out of the window to make me feel sorry for him!"

"Did it work?" Hiroki asked.

Takako groaned and covered her face with her hands. "I don't KNOW," she groaned, "Hiroki, I was looking at him and telling him how sick of him I was, and all I wanted to do was kiss him and tell him not to go! And when he left I just started crying! I've never cried like that before in my life, it was like this horrible hollow feeling inside me!"

"An 'I'm sorry' is still an apology regardless if he mumbled it or not," Hiroki pointed out. Once Shinji had left, Takako called Hiroki up and told him to meet up with her nearby, saying she had to talk to him. As expected, Hiroki dropped what he was doing—Wii bowling, but he _was_ about to go pro—and went to catch up with her.

"You don't think this is a good idea, do you?" Takako asked suddenly.

"What idea?" Hiroki asked, feigning innocence.

"The idea of me pretending to go out with Shuuya. There's a million ways it could go wrong," Takako muttered.

"That's never stopped you before," Hiroki pointed out. "I personally think that having his nose broken by a girl and his ego coming crashing down on him is punishment enough, Taka… maybe you should let things play out normally?"

"Absolutely not," Takako said angrily, her anger returning. "Look…" She lowered her voice. "You don't know how it feels like, do you? Seeing someone you're…" she groaned. "Seeing someone you're crazy about with someone else, especially when they're doing it just to spite you? I hope you never have to feel it, it feels shitty and horrible. I keep thinking I'm going to be sick myself, but beating the hell out of Mitsuko helped a little." She sighed.

"Takako…" Hiroki squeezed her shoulder sympathetically.

"I don't know how I feel," Takako said miserably, resting her head on her arms. "I want to hate him, but I know he didn't do it because he hates me… he's just stupid, but I can't believe he did that to me! It'd be easier to just hate him and move on, but that'd be harder than never resolving this! I'm not the sit around whining and crying girl! Why can't I just get over this and go kick his ass!?"

Hiroki got up and sat next to her, putting his arms around her and hugging her. Takako was crying, her shoulders shaking, and Hiroki noticed she hadn't shoved him off her with a sarcastic brush-off like she normally did. Subconsciously, as he hugged his best friend, Hiroki was hoping Shinji's nose and arm were _really_ hurting him right about now…

-

"Shinji, how come you're not eating?" Ikumi asked, noticing Shinji sitting across from her, subconsciously rubbing his eyes.

"Huh?" Shinji asked, looking up at her. "You say something?"

"What's wrong?" Ikumi asked for the hundredth time, pouting. "Why doesn't anyone tell me anything? I'm a big girl now!"

Shinji smiled a little. "Don't be in such a hurry." He sighed, knowing his sister was clearly worried, and decided to sum it up in a way that would get his point across. He really didn't want to tell his little sister, the only person in the world who still idolized him—or, for the matter, who still considered him a human being—what a jackass he really was.

"I screwed up," he told her. "I let the perfect girl fall right through my hands because I was an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," Ikumi insisted.

"Nice to know someone still thinks that." Shinji sighed. "Ikumi, you're aware you're the only human being I know personally who can still look me in the eye?"

"Sounds like you're in big trouble," Ikumi said sadly. "Can I help?"

"No, but I've been thinking," Shinji told her. "You're not allowed to talk to guys until you're thirty. You'll thank me someday."

Ikumi frowned. "No fair!"

"C'mon, you about done?" Shinji asked her, nudging her with his foot under the table. "I look like hell. I want to go home."

-

It took a lot of willpower, but somehow Shinji decided to go to school the next day.

"You sure?" Ikumi asked, eating her cereal.

"Yeah. Only thing worse than going back would be not going back," Shinji sighed.

"You should eat," Ikumi protested, "you haven't eaten since—"

"Yesterday," Shinji said. "Look, Ikumi, stop worrying about me, I'm fine. If I eat anything I'm probably gonna throw it all up again anyway."

"I wish Mom was here," Ikumi said sadly, "you'd listen to her!"

"No, I probably wouldn't," Shinji smirked a little. "You about ready? I'll walk you there if you want."

"Stop making excuses to miss school!" Ikumi said, and giggled.

Shinji just shook his head. "You're on to me, kiddo. I'm gonna be fine, don't worry about me. A'ight?"

"Okay," Ikumi told him. She walked over to him and gave him a big hug. "I still love you, even if nobody else does. Bye bye." She left.

Shinji groaned and let his head hit the table, forgetting about his nose brace. "OWWW…" With a sigh of resignation, he got up and reluctantly trudged out the door, silently praying a typhoon would strike and they'd all get to go home.

-

"He hooked up with Mitsuko just to break Takako's heart!"

"Wow. What an asshole."

"Poor Takako… how's she taking it?"

"From what I hear, she's fine… guess Mimura'll have to try harder next time—"

"WOULD YOU TWO SHUT THE FUCK UP!? I'M SITTING RIGHT HERE! I CAN FUCKING HEAR YOU!!" Shinji shouted, losing his temper and picking his head up from his desk.

Yukie and Haruka hadn't stopped rapid-fire gossiping since he sat down and promptly put his head down, before anyone could see his nose. He was already a social pariah for what he did to Takako, the LAST thing he wanted was anyone to see his face…

Instead of being terrified, his explosion only fed the girls even more ammunition.

"What's that thing on his face?" Yukie whispered.

"I dunno… How do you think he broke his arm?"

Shinji apparently gave up and hit his head on the desk angrily, hitting his nose as he did so and crying out in pain. "Owww!"

From nearby, Shuuya looked at his best friend's miserable form, knowing the worst hadn't even begun to come. He tried to remind himself that Shinji deserved this, but he was starting to think if Mim saw the girl he loved with his best friend, it would probably lead to… well, it wasn't gonna lead to anything good…

-

Shinji knew yesterday was the worst day of his life, but today ran a close second. Yukie and Haruka's annoying gossip was only in homeroom; he had yet to see what the rest of the school thought about him. He'd gone from most desirable guy in school to most despicable piece of trash overnight; hell, even the teachers seemed pissed off at him. When he refused to pick up his head to answer a question in class, his teacher dropped his grade from a B to an F, adding another failing grade to his growing collection.

Shuuya's guilty feelings were increasing as the day went on; Shinji skipped lunch, and Yutaka took advantage of the situation.

"What's wrong with him!?" Yutaka demanded, looking worried.

Yoshi nodded in agreement. "I've been hearing crap all day and I don't know what to believe."

"Where'd he go? What's going on?" Yutaka asked. "Shuuya?"

Shuuya just shrugged. "Hell if I know. He's not going to talk to me."

"God dammit, Shuuya! How the hell do you not know what's going on?" Yutaka said angrily. "What kind of friends are we? Mim's acting weirder than ever and we haven't even tried to figure out what's going on?"

No, I know what's going on, and I agreed to help hurt him even more, Shuuya wanted to say, sinking lower into his seat.

"Well, fuck you guys! I'm gonna go find him and try and figure out what the hell's going on," Yutaka snapped, getting up and leaving.

Yoshi let out a deep breath. "Shu, what's going on? I _know_ something's bugging you, you didn't sleep at all last night! And you've got a squeaky mattress so you tossing and turning kept ME up too!"

"I feel guilty as hell, Yoshi," Shuuya admitted, rubbing his forehead. "I can't tell you, man. You'd hate me if you knew."

"How could I ever hate you?" Yoshi asked incredulously.

"Believe me, Yoshi, there's a way," Shuuya grumbled.

-

"MIM! You in here, man?"

Shinji was hiding in the handicapped stall in the boys' bathroom, considering the idea of drowning himself in the toilet, and dismissing it quickly. He mentally kicked himself for being such a melodramatic baby. He didn't want to die, he wanted Takako to like him again. His train of thought was interrupted by the familiar voice.

"Yutaka?" he asked hesitantly.

"You in there, Mim? You better open up, or I'm crawling under the door with you!" Yutaka threatened, banging on the stall door. "And I'm short enough to fit!"

Shinji unlocked the stall door and Yutaka's eyes widened. "Holy shit!" he said. "What the hell happened to your nose!? And your arm? And—"

"Would you shut up? I'm fine!" Shinji said, rubbing his head. "I've felt like I was gonna puke since yesterday afternoon but there's no FOOD in my stomach for me to throw up!"

"Mim, what's been going on?" Yutaka asked urgently, before groaning loudly. "I swear, if this is about friggen Takako again…"

"It is," Shinji said shortly. "Go away. I don't want to talk about her."

"WHAT THE FUCK'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!?" Yutaka exploded, causing Shinji to jump. "Takako's not worth killing yourself over, Mim! God dammit! Why didn't you TELL someone!?"

"I did," Shinji protested, "I told my sister."

"Oh, so you're worrying Ikumi too? Come ON!" Yutaka groaned, fishing a rice cake out of his bag and thrusting it at him.

"Eww, I'm not touching that," Shinji said, making a face, "I remember when you bought that. It's been in your bag for months, it's not healthy—"

"But starving yourself is?" Yutaka demanded.

"I'm _not_ starving myself! Anything I eat I'm gonna throw back up again anyway!" Shinji complained. "I can't even breathe, this stupid thing is clogging my nose—"

"What's going on?" Yutaka asked again, sighing. "I've been hearing shit all day, I don't know what to believe—something about you hooking up with Mitsuko to make Takako jealous? Come on, is that the best they can do?"

"It's true," Shinji muttered.

"I mean, come on, you'd never stoop that low to—WHAT'D YOU JUST SAY!?" Yutaka cried in mid-sentence. "Oh my god, Mim! Don't tell me you really hooked up with _MITSUKO_!? Dude, she's probably tested positive to every STD known to the human race, no _wonder_ you look like hell!!"

"I didn't hook up with her and I don't have any STDs! And what'd you mean LOOK LIKE HELL? I'm fine!" Shinji interrupted. "Why does everyone in this stupid school jump to completely WRONG conclusions!? All I did was bribe her into pretending to be my girlfriend for five seconds! Takako saw us and she ran off crying, and I've felt like shit since! Then she went and attacked Mitsuko and beat the hell out of her, and Mitsuko came to find me and broke my nose! That's what happened, everything everyone's saying is true, alright? I'm an asshole, I broke Takako's heart just because she didn't believe me when I told her I liked her—"

Yutaka looked stunned. "What're you gonna do?"

"What d'you mean?" Shinji asked, feeling light-headed after all that yelling. "Shit… I feel like I'm gonna die…"

"Because you haven't eaten in a day and a half!!" Yutaka said angrily. "You fucking moron!" He paused. "Hey, that felt good to say."

"Why're you still talking to me?" Shinji asked. "Nobody's looked at me all day… good riddance, with this stupid thing on my face—"

"You've had your head down all day," Yutaka pointed out. "And I didn't even notice your nose thing until you pointed it out, I take it that's to fix what Mitsuko did to you?"

"Yes, and guess who my doctor was," Shinji groaned. "Three guesses. First two don't count."

Yutaka looked confused. "Who?"

"Takako's dad," Shinji complained. "He's head doctor in the emergency ward at the hospital. It figures."

"Did he know who you were?" Yutaka asked.

"No… well, he said my name, and I swear I thought he recognized me, so I bailed. I ran to the bathroom and threw up, and when I stand up to wipe my mouth off I see Takako staring at me… her folks were convinced I was on the brink of death, so they made me stay for a little while longer, and that's when Takako comes by to torture me, and I jumped out the window when I got sick of her guilt trip," Shinji complained. "Hence the arm cast."

"Mim, you look like hell, get a sick pass and go home, man," Yutaka said, "I'll go with you to make sure you don't like collapse on the way home—"

"You just want to get out of your math test," Shinji muttered.

"SHIT! I've got a math test!" Yutaka yelped. "Oh, shit, come on, Mim, let's get out of here!"

Shinji laughed despite himself. "Thanks, Yutaka," he told him, standing up. "C'mere…" He grabbed his much shorter friend in a big hug, and Yutaka hugged him back.

Three guys on the baseball team came in, saw Shinji and Yutaka, and promptly turned around to leave again. Yow. Do not want!

-

I got an awesome idea a minute ago—how awesome would a BR story written entirely written in limerick be?

Then I got another idea. Muffins.

I knew it. I'm going insane.


	26. Manhunt

Can this stupid story be over already!? u_u *working on it*

S'not that I don't love it, I do, it's the longest published story I've ever written on this site, but arghhhhhhhh I want to work on the **SEQUEL** by now! Because the **SEQUEL** will be fun! Unlike most common **SEQUELS** which are not as good as the original, this **SEQUEL** will be the best **SEQUEL** to anything you've ever read/seen! This SEQUEL will be awesome.

Have I mentioned I'm thinking about writing a **_SEQUEL_**? *cough*

/self promotion

I'm so humble it breaks my damn heart. XD

Anyway, enough of my self-righteous blabbing (unless that's your idea of a good time, to which I say HEAR, HEAR (or READ, READ) since I'm always up for chattering away endlessly about anything and everything except for something boring like golf unless the topic is what a schmuck Tiger Woods is, in which case I can go on for hours—ARGHHHHHHHH I DID IT AGAIN).

What happened last chapter, you ask? Don't look at me, go back and read it! Recapping = not my job

-

Takako had never felt as guilty before in her life as she did right now. She wished her damn emotions would stop flip-flopping; her brain was screaming REVENGE, REVENGE, MAKE HIM SUFFER, but everything else was telling her she should just go talk to him and end the madness before it got any worse.

Judging by how he looked, it'd been a pretty rough few days; her dad mentioned how he was shaking like a leaf, but Takako assumed that was because he knew the doctor helping him was the father of the girl he pissed off. Either that or he had some doctor-phobia.

The entire school was talking again… but this time, they were sympathizing with her, telling her how sorry they were that Shinji broke her heart.

Like _hell_. She didn't want the sympathy of the whole school. Hell, as far as those mouth-breathing idiots were concerned, she hadn't gotten her heart broken at all. She was Takako Chigusa, the tough, the almighty, the unbreakable, and Shinji Mimura had been a bump (1) in the road on her path to conquest. Yeah. She was a badass.

…okay, fine, he DID, but she didn't want an apology from _them_, she wanted the apology to come from Shinji himself. And he DID apologize. He didn't say much, barely choking out the words, but Takako couldn't help but want to forgive him too.

Of course, that revelation happened AFTER she literally chased him off. Out the second story window in Shiroiwa Hospital, to be specific. He'd come crawling back in, of course, but that ruins the whole dramatic point of the expression.

She was a _bit_ impressed that she had the class playboy so frustrated she made him jump out of a fucking _window_, but that didn't do much for your self-esteem when a guy would rather eat pavement than talk to you for a moment longer. Ouch.

Well, lucky for Takako she was hot. Which didn't help. Argh.

She couldn't help but feel disgusted with herself; despite all they'd been through the past few days, her feelings for him hadn't changed at all. She was as crazy about him as she was two days previously when he had her in his arms and was kissing her in that hallway, dammit.

This was, as usual, all Hiroki's fault. After all, he hadn't grabbed her, shaken some common sense into her, and told her to stop being stupid and go talk to Shinji (what she'd done to _him_ to get him to talk to Kayoko). No, instead, the most useless lieutenant in the world had just sat there, meekly tapping his nose—stupid Hiroki!

No, it wasn't Hiroki's fault either; she wanted to blame Shuuya, but that was more because she didn't like him rather than any specific blame reasons. Stupid Shuuya!

Why, oh WHY hadn't she gone to talk to him at lunch, like Hiroki suggested? Why hadn't she just TOLD him she believed him, that she felt the same way?

"Why'd he have to pretend to be with Mitsuko of all people!?" Takako asked Hiroki miserably at lunch.

"You're asking the wrong guy, Taka," Hiroki said sympathetically. "Maybe he thought you'd turn him down again…"

"I never turned him down in the first place! I told him I had to sort some stuff out and I'd talk to him later!" Takako grumbled. "He's so fucking stupid! And why the hell did I tell him he wasn't worth it? Why does my mouth insist on saying the first thing that pops into my head?"

Hiroki watched fearfully. Usually when she got like this, it was like a time bomb set for detonation—put a good 10,000 feet between yourself and the place of explosion, and hide until the scientists in the Hazmat suits make an official statement saying you won't sprout a third eye upon contact.

From across the cafeteria, Yutaka yelled something at Shuuya and Yoshitoki, since Shinji obviously wasn't there. He got up and stormed off, and Hiroki watched him go. "Looks Mimura related to me," he commented.

"I'm gonna go talk to him, that little squirt might know where Mimura is," Takako decided, getting up and chasing after Yutaka.

Hiroki watched her leave and breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like that time bomb might either be defused, or get detonated a lot quicker than he thought.

-

Takako waited outside the bathroom impatiently, not wanting to storm in there for obvious reasons.

"Shit," she muttered. Normally she'd barge in there; but the LAST time she went into a boys' bathroom to drag Hiroki out, Kazuo Kiriyama's gang had been having an emergency meeting.

Luckily they had heard enough rumors of Takako's ability to kill a grown man with her bare hands (a rumor that wasn't true, but she encouraged it all the same) and left her alone. But it was creepy nonetheless!

"Just my luck, the little squirt needs to take a BIG squirt," Takako grumbled, checking her cell phone clock impatiently.

Deciding she'd waited long enough, she caught three guys headed in her direction, towards the bathroom. All three were wearing varsity baseball jackets. Very grateful she had been born drop-dead gorgeous, Takako grabbed the tallest one's sleeve and batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Whoa. Hi there," the guy said, glancing over at his friends with a thumbs-up. "How can I help you, babe?"

Takako mentally made a face. Hearing herself called "babe" just wasn't as nice when it wasn't Shinji speaking.

Ew. Snap out of it, Takako!

"You know who Shinji Mimura is, don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah! Jackass who broke that one girl's heart!" The guy said excitedly. "Why?"

"Can you tell me if he's in there?" Takako asked, glad the guy didn't recognize her.

"Sure," the guy told her, and went in, along with his friends. About two seconds later the three all came back out again, making faces.

"He's in there," the guy said, answering Takako's unspoken question, "huggin' some little guy. Weird shit in there." He shrugged. "So, anyway, babe—"

Takako ignored him and shoved the door open. "Shinji, you in here?" she demanded, and sure enough, he and Yutaka were both in here.

She hadn't actually seen him face-to-face since yesterday, and judging by the look on his face he wasn't too excited to see her. He also was wearing the brace on his nose, which surprised her; she hadn't worn hers when she was little unless she was at gunpoint, but that was beside the point.

"No windows for you to jump out of this time," she said firmly, taking a step closer to him, unable to hold onto her pissed off face.

Shinji scowled and turned away from her.

Yutaka groaned. "Mim, c'mon! Talk to her!"

"Absolutely not," said Shinji, glaring.

"Shinji, come on!" Takako said, exasperated. She reached out to try and get hold of his hand, and Shinji jerked it out of her reach.

"I'm not worth it, remember?" he snapped, evading her and stomping into a stall.

Takako, remaining persistent, followed him and cornered him against a toilet. "I need to talk to you," she told him firmly, "it's something I should've told you a long time ago—"

Shinji didn't seem to want to hear it. He turned around, annoyed.

"You'd rather look at a toilet than me!?" Takako asked, outraged. "Fine!" She shoved the stall door open and glared at Yutaka, as if daring him to laugh.

Yutaka didn't. "Takako, leave him alone, he's not himself," he told her, lowering his voice. "He hasn't eaten in a day and a half and he won't eat anything now either—"

"WHAT!?" Takako yelled. "You moron! Why the hell aren't you eating!?"

The stall door swung open again, but instead of getting a response, Shinji promptly fell onto the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL? MIM!?" Yutaka yelped.

"He passed out," Takako said angrily, "probably because he hasn't been EATING!"

"Or you freaked him out," Yutaka frowned, "ever think of that?"

"Don't blame his stupid mood swings on ME!" Takako snapped.

"I'll get him to the office, ALONE," Yutaka emphasized.

Takako snorted. "You and what army?"

Yutaka frowned. "Is that necessary? You don't have to be so mean all the time! Y'know, Takako, I think you'd have more friends if you were a little nicer!"

"Friends like who? The idiots who've made this whole charade happen?" Takako asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Yutaka ignored her, apparently more concerned about Shinji.

"Wait… when he wakes up, can you do something for me?" Takako asked, looking upset again.

"Depends on what it is, I'm not gonna hurt him," Yutaka said cautiously. "Uh… just for the record, I'm not going to kiss him either if that's what you're thinking—"

"Tell him I'm sorry," Takako said, and left.

Yutaka groaned and tried to hoist Shinji's limp body up. He put his arm around his own shoulder, but the fact that Shinji was about a foot taller than he was didn't help, as his legs were dragging along the floor. Yutaka managed to get a good grip on him, and dragged him to the office.

-

"Oww," Shinji groaned, rubbing his head. "What happened? How come my head's hurting?"

"Probably when you passed out," Yutaka said, looking relieved. "You hit the floor pretty hard!"

"But I faked that," Shinji said, confused.

"Oh. Then I guess it's from when I dropped you on the way here," Yutaka said, shrugging.

Shinji made a face. "Thanks. Where'd Takako go?"

"I told her to take a hike," Yutaka said proudly.

Shinji let out an agonized groan and rolled himself up into a ball.

Yutaka chuckled. "I'm kidding, I told her I could handle it. But I dunno, man… she sounded really worried about you, you saw her freak when I told her you weren't eating—"

"Thanks for telling her that, by the way," Shinji said impatiently. "Look, I'm _not_ starving myself. Anything I eat I'm going to end up puking up anyway, so there's no point—"

"Mim, unless you want me to drag you to the hospital and force some doctor to stick a feeding tube in your stomach, you'd better eat something," Yutaka threatened. "So what if you throw up, man? It's better than dry heaving!"

"You got a point there… ugh… and I'm starving," Shinji admitted, making a face. "Was she crying AGAIN when I pretended to pass out back there? Sounded like it."

"Looked like it too," Yutaka confirmed, nodding. "She says she's sorry… just when I think you two are done with each other for good, something always happens."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Shinji rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, be honest with me here. Why's it so hard for you to tell her you love her, Mim?" Yutaka asked.

"I do not LOVE her," Shinji snapped. "Nobody in their right mind could love HER. She's insane."

"Oh, shut up. Who do you think you're kidding?" Yutaka rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Mim. She's crazy about you, she's tough, and she's a babe! Most guys, including me, would kill to have a girl like that, and all YOU'RE doing is denying it!"

"I am not," Shinji scowled.

"Mim, if you tell her you love her, she'll say she loves you back," Yutaka pointed out. "And she might sleep with you for real this time. There's a bonus!"

"That's not the point! I am not in love with her! Stop bothering me about it!" Shinji said, irritated.

"Whatever, Mim," Yutaka shook his head. "Look, I gotta go fail that Math test now, or the crazy lady will probably give me a zero for not showing up. Might be able to scrape like three points if I put my name on it… see you later, EAT SOMETHING, GOD DAMN YOU!"

Shinji watched him go and scowled. For a star basketball player, he sure was spending a lot of time lying around in a bed. Truthfully he was starving and his head was killing him from when he "passed out"; truth be told, he couldn't handle listening to Takako anymore.

One minute she hated his guts and everything else about him, the next minute, she was worried and spazzing out. Crazy girl… must be why I'm in love with her, he thought with a reluctant sigh.

Well, he finally admitted it, even though it was only to himself. I love her. I'm in love with her. I love Takako Chigusa. I'm in love with Takako. He repeated it over in his head, rolling over to the side of the clinic's bed and yawning. Might as well get some sleep while I'm here, he decided.

-

Lunch was over, so Takako had reluctantly gone to her next class, which unfortunately didn't contain Shuuya. She wasn't able to find him for the rest of the day, either. She'd spent the past semester going out of her way to AVOID Shuuya, and the only time she actually wanted to talk to him, she couldn't find him. The irony was sickening.

Ah, there he was, she'd recognize that horrible hairstyle anywhere—

"Hey! Shuuya!" Takako yelled, noticing him up ahead.

Shuuya visibly jumped and turned around, his eyes wide with terror. Takako glared at him, folding her arms across her chest, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, force of habit," he said. "What's going on? Have you—"

"I need to talk to you," Takako told him. "Look, I—"

"I can't go through with this," Shuuya groaned, "it'll kill him!"

"That's exactly what I was going to say," Takako said, relieved. "But what do we do now?"

Shuuya shrugged. "Hell if I know. Where is Mim, I haven't seen him—"

"He passed out," Takako said, "I cornered him in the bathroom and Yutaka told me HE HADN'T EATEN—"

"WHAT!?" Shuuya demanded. "What is he, crazy!?"

"I don't know," Takako muttered, "but this is a bad idea, we should think of something else—"

"I've got a better idea, which ironically is the same song I've been singing all year," Shuuya interrupted her. "I keep telling HIM this. Why don't YOU go talk to him?"

"I already did! He won't listen to me!" Takako yelled. "He'd rather look at a damn toilet than me!"

"Huh?" Shuuya asked, confused.

"Oh, shut up!! Look, I tried to talk to him and he passed out on the floor!" Takako said angrily. "It's not MY fault he won't listen!"

"Well he probably thinks you're gonna turn him down again and he doesn't want to hear it," Shuuya pointed out.

"I HAVEN'T TURNED HIM DOWN!! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" Takako exploded. "All I said was, I HAVE SOME STUFF TO THINK ABOUT, SEE YOU LATER!! You try thinking about stuff when he's got his arms wrapped around you and he won't stop kissing you—"

"Uh, eww," Shuuya whined. Takako shot him a disgusted glare and he sighed. "Alright, fine, so us going out, is out. Which is good, seeing as nobody would buy it anyway, seeing as you and Mim made things so… er… convincing, to put it nicely."

"The people at this school are pretty dumb but they're not that dumb," Takako laughed. "You and me dating… unbelievable…"

Unbeknownst to Shuuya and Takako, who kept laughing, Yukie Utsumi nearly screamed with horror and sprinted to the opposite side of the school to find someone to talk to.

-

"Mimura, get out of here, I want to go home," grumbled the grouchy school nurse. "Out with you, boy, go home…"

Shinji reluctantly rolled off the bed he had been sleeping on since noon. "You don't have any food, do you?" he yawned sleepily. "I'm hungry…"

"Absolutely not! Now beat it!"

Shinji rolled his eyes and left, groaning as the bright light outside temporarily hurt his eyes. Yutaka was right about something; he needed to get some damn food, his stomach was growling so much he thought he was going to keel over and die.

Sleeping for so long had made him feel better; he was still pissed about stupid Takako, but figured she'd be so pissed about him blowing her off in the bathroom earlier she'd figure out he didn't want to talk to her.

With another yawn, he set off for home; school had let out a half hour ago, and he wasn't in any mood for basketball practice, so he figured he'd go to the store, buy as much food as he could afford, and eat until he lost consciousness.

Of course, in order to go home he'd have to leave school grounds first, and as usual, an obstacle jumped in his way. A very familiar, very ANNOYING, twin-braided obstacle. "SHINJI!!" Yukie shrieked. "OH MY GOD!!"

Shinji was in absolutely no mood to talk to the annoying pain-in-the-ass that was Yukie Utsumi, so he ignored her and kept going. Yukie however had the hide of a rhinoceros and wasn't affected by his rudeness at all.

"Don't be mad at me, Shinji! I'm just wondering, you know who Takako's dating now, right?" Yukie asked, sounding hysterical.

Shinji froze. "WHAT?" he demanded, turning around.

"She's going out with Shuuya!" Yukie said, looking pissed off, "stupid boy-stealing slut—"

Shinji was trying to talk, but his brain and his mouth didn't seem to be connected anymore. Stay frosty, his brain told him, but his body clearly wasn't listening. His hands still worked, and he grabbed Yukie by her shoulders.

"Where'd you hear that!?" he shouted, able to speak again. "What the hell are you talking about!?"

"I heard them talking about it!" Yukie squeaked. "Please don't kill me! I'm really sorry Shinji! I thought you would want to know so you could get Takako back!"

"Don't give me that bull, you just want Shuuya for yourself," Shinji snapped, letting her go. "You're wasting your time anyway! He likes Noriko… well at least he DID!"

Yukie was apparently terrified and promptly ran off. Shinji felt like he was going to be sick again. So this was that bitch Takako's idea of getting even with him, dating his best friend? And as for that TRAITOR Shuuya—

He considered his options. He could either kill Shuuya, kill Takako, kill them both, or figure out what the hell was going on, then kill them. So far killing Shuuya sounded great—killing Takako sounded pretty good too, come to think of it…

One thing was for sure, he wanted answers and he wanted them fast. He dug his mobile phone out of his pocket and immediately dialed the number of the one friend in this damn school he could count on.

-

"Hello?" Yutaka asked. "Mim, you feeling better?"

"No," Shinji snapped. "I'll get to the point here. How long has Shuuya been dating Takako?"

"WHAT?" Yutaka asked, sounding genuinely shocked. "Mim, there's no way, she was all over you this afternoon—"

"Yeah, well, when you're Takako, and you don't give two shits about other people, that's a damn long time to wait," Shinji snarled. "And she's a fucking good little actress too—you have any idea where our little traitor Shuuya is?"

"Hiding, probably! Mim, c'mon, think about it, it's gotta be a stupid rumor, there's no way Shuuya would do that to you! He's Shuuya!"

"I'm well aware of who he is, Yutaka," Shinji snapped, "all I know is he's dating Takako now and it PISSES ME OFF!!"

"What're you going to do? Are you still at school?" Yutaka asked.

"Yeah. I'm thinking about KILLING him—"

"Don't do that!" Yutaka squeaked, terrified—when Mim got pissed like this, Yutaka was never sure of how he'd react—"Look, if you kill Shuuya, you won't get any answers!"

"Good idea. Make him talk, THEN kill him," Shinji laughed nastily. "I should've known he wanted Takako the whole time, he made out with her for like twenty minutes, you should've SEEN the way he was clinging onto her—"

"I did see, Mim, I was there," Yutaka whimpered. "You, uh, want me to come find you?"

"No. I don't want any witnesses," Shinji snapped. "Doesn't Shuuya have baseball today?"

"Uh—" Yutaka was worried. YES, he knew Shuuya DID have practice today, but he also knew if he disclosed Shuuya's location, Shuuya would die. Then again, if Mim found out ANOTHER of his friends stabbed him in the back today, he'd be even more angry than he was now, and after Shuuya was dead, he'd probably come after Yutaka too. "Yeah, but Mim, you better not do anything stupid—"

The line promptly went dead. Yutaka sighed and closed his mobile phone nervously, deciding to watch the 6 o'clock news tonight in case Shinji was on it…

-

Shuuya picked his gym bag up from the ground and stretched his sore muscles, talking with Tadakatsu, another player on the team. "I hate doing suicide runs," he complained. "I know we've gotta run the bases, but—"

Shuuya didn't see Shinji hiding in the baseball equipment shed, holding a baseball bat rather menacingly in his hands, obviously quite ready to beat the hell out of him with it. Tadakatsu opened the shed to return his bat, when Shinji (assuming it was Shuuya) attacked.

"AAARGH!! WHAT THE FUCK!?" Tadakatsu screamed, bringing his arms over his head to prevent Shinji from murdering him. Shinji apparently realized he'd attacked an innocent person and looked around for his prey, while Tadakatsu had parallel-universe-being-beaten-to-death-by-a-baseball-via-Mitsuko-Souma flashbacks.

"Mim!? What the fuck, man?" Shuuya asked, confused. Shinji looked up, saw Shuuya and jumped to his feet, apparently intent on murder.

Shuuya's legs got going the instant he met Mim's death glare. "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!? WHAT'RE YOU DOING!?" he yelled over his shoulder.

"GET YOUR BACK STABBING ASS BACK OVER HERE!! I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS TO ASSHOLES WHO STEAL TAKAKO FROM ME!!" Shinji shouted, clearly having lost his mind.

"What the fuck're you talking about!? I didn't steal—OW!" Shuuya yelped, getting hit. "Dammit, Mim, don't make me hit you!!"

"I'd like to see you try!" Shinji hollered. "You hear me, asshole? SHE'S MINE!!"

Shuuya doubted his feet touched the ground once as he ran like hell to stay out of range from Shinji's mad swing of fury. He didn't know WHAT the hell Shinji was talking about, or how he could run like this when he supposedly hadn't been eating—adrenaline, he guessed—but still, he didn't want to die!!

"GET BACK HERE!!" Shinji screamed, not letting up on his attack at all. Shuuya realized he was running towards a fenced-off area, and anxiously glanced behind him to see if Shinji was slowing down at all…

Ooookay! Nearly getting clobbered with a baseball bat made Shuuya quite aware that Shinji was still on his heels, so Shuuya prayed he had some abilities with jumping hurdles. It's a damn good thing Shinji didn't notice the _machete_ in there…

He leapt over the fence with ease; Shinji however wasn't prepared for the jump, and ran into the chain link face, yelling in rage. Shuuya knew better than to let up, and continued sprinting, not about to slow down until there was AT LEAST a padlocked door between him and his enraged best friend.

-

Shinji swore angrily as he yanked his caught shirt out from the chain link fence and swore loudly when it tore almost in half. At the speed he was going, he thought he could go through it, which in retrospect was pretty stupid thinking.

Shuuya had kept running, and turned left up ahead, causing Shinji to lose sight of his pansy ass. Shinji climbed over the fence, wiping the blood from his mouth away. When he hit the fence, he put his arms over his head to protect himself, and the bat he was holding pounded him in the jaw, adding injury to insult.

He'd kill Shuuya tomorrow. Right about now he had to get home before he absolutely DIED… he burned all his energy up chasing Shuuya and now he felt all light headed.

I'm turning into such a damn wimp, he thought, annoyed, as he turned around and headed for home.

-

Shuuya made it back to the orphanage, feeling like his lungs were about to burst from breathing so hard. He made it inside the building and promptly collapsed on the ground, his chest heaving.

"Shuuya!?" Ms. Ryoko gasped. "What's wrong?"

"Mim tried to kill me," Shuuya gasped. "Water… please…"

Ms. Ryoko ran off and came back with a bottle of water for the dying boy, which Shuuya gratefully took and gulped down. "Oh man… thanks," he groaned.

"Now why would Shinji try to KILL you?" Ms. Ryoko asked, confused.

"Um… it's a long story," Shuuya said nervously.

"SHUUYA!!" Yoshi shouted, coming in and slamming the door.

"YOSHI? What happened!? Did you get mugged again?" Ms. Ryoko asked, horrified. Yoshi looked like he'd gotten the hell beaten out of him.

"NO!! Mim just attacked me!!" Yoshi said angrily. "I'm lucky to have survived! He wanted to know where YOU were, and when I couldn't tell him he actually HIT me!! Quite a few times!!"

"I'm about to call that boy's mother!" Ms. Ryoko said angrily.

"Wait, Ms. Ryoko, I'm sure there's a good reason as to why Mim's out to kill Shuuya," Yoshi snapped, glaring at Shuuya. "For starters, why don't you ask about his new girlfriend?"

Shuuya stared. "What the hell are you TALKING about, Yoshi?"

"Don't talk to me! I'm mad at you!" Yoshi said. "Ms. Ryoko, Mim's got a good reason to be pissed. Even though I got caught in the crosshair…" He stomped upstairs to his and Shuuya's room and Ms. Ryoko turned to Shuuya.

"Have you been causing trouble, Shuuya?" Ms. Ryoko demanded.

"Ms. Ryoko, I swear, I've got no idea what he's talking about," Shuuya protested. "I swear…"

Ms. Ryoko sighed. "Well, whatever it is—promise me you'll fix it, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," Shuuya said quickly.

"I think you should talk to Yoshi…" Ms. Ryoko said. "At least he wasn't mugged again…"

-

"Yoshi, let me in!" Shuuya complained, pounding on the door.

"I'm not talking to you!" Yoshi said angrily.

"You just did! C'mon, man, I'm sorry for whatever Mim did to you!"

"What Mim did to ME!? Save the apology for him, Shuuya!" Yoshi exploded.

"What're you TALKING about!? Would you just let me in!? This is my room too, you can't lock me out!!" Shuuya said angrily.

The door swung open and Shuuya came in quickly; Yoshi looked pretty angry, which was rare for him. "Yoshi, would you just TELL me why you're so pissed at me!?" Shuuya pleaded. "C'mon, you and Mim both hate me now and I don't know WHY!"

"I'm pretty sure as to why Mim hates you, and I can vouch for myself as to why I don't want to look at you," Yoshi snapped. "I heard about your new girlfriend, Shuuya, pretty low if you ask me—"

"WHAT NEW GIRLFRIEND!?" Shuuya shouted. "What the hell are you talking about!? I don't have a girlfriend!!"

"That's not what I hear," Yoshi said angrily. "If anything I'm appalled as to how STUPID you think I am, Shuuya, what, you don't think crap like this spreads like STDs at a hooker club? How long've you been sneaking around with Takako!?"

Shuuya's jaw dropped. He actually thought his mouth and his brain lost connection, since he sure as hell couldn't say anything. When his voice finally came back, he exploded. "I'M NOT SNEAKING AROUND WITH TAKAKO, YOU DUMB FUCK! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? LIKE I'D BE DUMB ENOUGH TO TRY AND TAKE MIM'S GIRL, HE'D—uh oh."

"Uh oh what?" Yoshi demanded, used to Shuuya's outbursts and only listening for the good parts.

"Aww, fuck," Shuuya groaned. "Dammit… we were overheard…"

"What the hell are you talking about, Shuuya?" Yoshi asked impatiently.

Shuuya groaned, rubbing his forehead exasperatedly. "It's a long story and I don't feel like going into the details, but I'll get to the point."

(If you've been confused during the last few chapters Shu's gonna do a pretty good job summing it all up, lol)

"Mim pulled that stunt on Takako, the whole pretending to go out with Mitsuko to make her jealous. Anyway Takako WAS jealous, and sad, and she got pissed and kicked the crap out of Mitsuko, but when we told her it was a fluke and he was just pretending, she got pissed again and wanted to kick the crap out of us for not saying something earlier, but we stopped her before she killed us both and Kawada actually suggested she go out with someone else to piss Mim off, and we decided it would be me, but before we could go through with the plan we saw Mim got his nose AND his arm broken and we felt sorry for him and we didn't want to make him all suicidal and whatever so we nixed the plan. Unfortunately we must have been overheard and some idiot jumped to conclusions." Shuuya took a long breath and glanced at Yoshi apprehensively. "Well?"

"I believe you," Yoshi said slowly, "but I don't think Mim'll be quite as understanding. You'd better talk to him soon, Shuuya—"

"Are you kidding me!? He's got that animal-instinct to kill me ready to go! If I step within three feet of his range he'll rip my head off!" Shuuya protested. "I know I fucked up here but I'm not gonna stand there and let him kill me!"

"He's not going to kill you," Yoshi said impatiently, rolling his eyes. He thought over what he just said and made a face. "Um, actually… well, wait a few days for him to calm down, that might be best."

"Good call," Shuuya groaned. "How the hell do I get wrapped up in this kind of stuff, Yoshi?"

"Hell if I know," Yoshi said, "I'm just glad it's you instead of me. I mean, uh—"

Shuuya groaned and flopped over on his bed, burying his face in his pillow long enough to let out a loud shriek. Not some specific rock-god shriek, nope, just a regular 'MY FRIENDS ARE IDIOTS AND I AM STUCK IN THE MADNESS SO WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT ME!?' shriek.

-

Ughhhhhh can this story be over yet pleaaaaaase!!!

I know you guys still like it but I am boooored with it. XD

Hang in there, guys!


	27. Mimura Mood Swings

ATTENTION EVERYONE IN TWO CHAPTERS THIS STORY WILL BE OOOOOVER

Two chapters not counting this one, of course. :P But fear not, I'm both reading the manga again and the novel again to come up with new ideas! Go me!

-

The next day of school, Takako came fully prepared to grab Shinji, drag him into some corner of the school, and kiss the hell out of him until he finally got the idea that she felt the same way about him as he did about her.

Of course, nothing in real life worked out as well as they sounded in one's mind, so AS USUAL something came up. Not even eight seconds after she came into homeroom, Shuuya leapt up from his desk, seized her by her arms and force-marched her outside into the hallway.

"What're you doing!?" Takako hissed. "I never said you could touch me, you—"

"Takako, I gotta tell you something, and you're not gonna like hearing it—" Shuuya was interrupted as usual (although he was used to it by now) by a loud sob coming from Yukie Utsumi and company, all shooting Takako evil glares but not saying anything (for once).

"The hell are they on?" Takako asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That leads us back to what I need to tell you. Um, Takako, we were overheard talking about _the plan_," Shuuya said, mouthing the last two words. "And, as you can imagine—"

"THE WHOLE SCHOOL THINKS I'M DATING YOU!?" Takako shrieked, apparently quite perceptive. "How the HELL did they work THAT one out!?"

"I don't know," Shuuya rolled his eyes, "you're asking the wrong guy here. Look, the problem isn't the stupid rumors, I think you're, uh, pretty used to those by now—"

"Thanks to you idiots," Takako snapped.

"Yeah, yeah. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?" Shuuya gave a winning smile.

Takako's look of disgust was enough. Shuuya took a breath and continued. "Anyway, if you thought Mim was upset before, he's…" He struggled to think of a proper adjective and failed. "He's homicidal, Takako, he's enraged and he ambushed me and tried to kill me. He's not going to stop until I'm dead. So, uh, watch out," he finished lamely.

"Gotcha. Any homicidal fruit loop tries to kill me, I'll keep my eyes peeled," Takako said, annoyed. "When will this insanity end?"

"It'll end when you and Mim pull your heads out of your asses and admit you're crazy about each other," Shuuya said seriously. "C'mon, Takako, you've told me and Sugi you're crazy about him; what's so hard about telling HIM? It's not like you two haven't had your moments—"

"Don't remind me," Takako growled. "I don't even think I like him at all anymore, he's really pissing me off—"

"Oh, don't feed me that bull," Shuuya scoffed, "you obviously—"

"We both know, don't say it," Takako groaned. "I don't want to hear it."

"So what're you going to do now?" Shuuya asked hopefully. "You could go talk to Mim, y'know, before he KILLS ME—"

"Quit being a pansy, Shuuya, he's not really going to kill you," Takako rolled her eyes. "You sound like a little girl. Besides, Mimura's a wimp."

"Oh no he's not," Shuuya protested, "he's a lot tougher than you'd think by looking at his scrawny ass, he's a fucking beast when he wants to be! You're just saying that because he hasn't clobbered YOU yet—"

"Well in that case you're screwed," Takako said with a shrug. "Nice knowing you, Shuuya."

"Oh thanks," Shuuya sighed.

-

Class B's gym coach wasn't here today, nor did a substitute show up. A note reading "Just hit each other with dodge balls until the bell rings" was taped to the front of the basketball court's doors, along with two ball racks filled with dodge balls, the old school red rubber kickball ones to be accurate.

Shuuya nervously glanced back behind him and visibly recoiled at the glare Shinji was shooting him. Shinji hadn't been able to get an opportunity to KILL SHUUYA yet since yesterday; he was determined to kill him, though. Takako was eying him cautiously, but as far as Shinji was concerned Takako wasn't alive; it was SHUUYA he wanted to murder. Once Shuuya was dead he'd think about Takako.

Yutaka was the only other person in school who wasn't too scared to talk to him; he'd been so angry and sullen the past few days people seemed rather afraid of getting anywhere near him. He was getting a headache from scowling all day long, and his nose was still painfully reminding him of its existence, which was also pissing him off.

"C'mon, Mim, it's just dodgeball," Yutaka said, prodding Shinji's not-broken arm. "Why don't you play? Work off some steam… "

If Shinji wasn't so angry, he probably would have told Yutaka the correct expression was "BLOW off some steam", but he wasn't in the mood to be a know-it-all prick. Instead, he seized a ball and purposely set himself opposite Shuuya's team; he was ON Takako's team, which meant he would have to be sneaky when he hit her with a ball, but for Shuuya it was open season.

Shuuya clearly was terrified; he tried to hide behind everyone else several times. When he hid behind Yukie, she glared at him disgustedly and stormed off, still probably jealous.

"Are you gonna stop being a pussy and throw it, or what?" Yoji Kuramoto asked Shinji rudely, although given the situation that probably wasn't the best idea. Luckily for Yoji, Shinji barely heard him, concentrating on the sorry ass belonging to his EX-best friend.

Takako grabbed Yutaka by his sleeve. Terrified, Yutaka shrieked and chucked the ball at her, missing completely.

"I'm on your team, you little—" Remembering to be NICE, Takako scowled and tried again. Plastering a smile on her lips that was completely unconvincing and in Yutaka's opinion quite terrifying, she asked, "Can you tell Mimura I'd like to have a word with him?"

"What!? No!" Yutaka said quickly. "Are you kidding!? He'll think I've changed sides and kill me!"

"I just want to talk to him!" Takako said angrily. "Come on! Do it before I stuff this ball up your—I mean, uh—" her face took on a pained expression—"p-p-p-please?" She looked disgusted with herself.

"Uh uh," Yutaka said stubbornly.

A piercing yell of pain rang out from the gym; Shuuya was on his back on the floor, looking dazed with a big red dodgeball mark on his face. Shinji was looking more pleased than he'd looked all day, a smile of evil plastered on his face.

"PENALTY! You're out!" screamed Class President and pain-in-the-ass Kyoichi Motobuchi. "You can't do that, Mimura, you're out! And you can't play with a broken arm anyway!"

Shinji just shrugged. "Mission accomplished, see if I give a fucking shit," he said easily, and while shoving Motobuchi on his ass for good riddance, walked right out of the gym. Takako shoved Yutaka aside and chased after him, deciding it was now or never.

-

Shinji hadn't gone far, stopping at the water fountains to get a drink. Takako waited impatiently for him to finish, and when he stood up again he saw her. He obviously wasn't happy to see her; he opened his mouth probably to start shouting at her, but Takako grabbed him by his biceps, pushed him against the wall and kissed him.

Shinji's hands moved to her shoulders, but not affectionately; if she hadn't been gripping onto him so tightly he probably would've pushed her off him. Takako kept kissing him, feeling his muscles flex beneath her hands; she knew he was trying to free himself, but she didn't care.

He still wasn't responding; Takako was starting to have second thoughts, when he finally kissed her back, although nowhere near as intensely as he used to. Takako barely cared that there was a crowd around her; she pulled back about an inch to catch her breath when Shinji's lips caught hers again, kissing her and slowly moving his hands from her shoulders to land on her hips.

Takako wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly; she'd missed kissing him, she missed HIM, and even though his nose brace made kissing him a little awkward she didn't give a crap, really~

Shinji was having a conflicted battle in his head; half of him was frantic to get as far away from Takako as possible, yet the other half was clearly the half with his best interest in mind, kissing Takako back frantically. She pulled away from him temporarily and before he could stop himself he lunged back at her, kissing her again, ignoring his gawking classmates nearby.

Takako pulled back from him and for a few seconds he met her gaze; her eyes were watery and she buried her face in his neck, hugging him around his waist tightly. Shinji tried to ignore her arms wrapped around his waist, and her head buried in his neck, as he reluctantly pulled away from her. Takako held onto his arm, not about to let him go anytime soon.

"Shinji, come on," Takako said almost pleadingly, holding his arm tightly. Shinji tugged his arm free and pushed past the crowd of people watching to get into the boys' locker room to change his clothes.

The crowd got bored just watching Takako and left; Hiroki put his arm around her comfortingly and Shuuya watched Yutaka head into the boys' locker room, probably to go find Mim.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Shuuya decided, sighing.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Hiroki asked. "I don't think he's going to be in the best of moods—"

"Too damn bad," Shuuya said firmly. "Crazy or not, he's still my best friend."

"Which brings us to the current situation," Hiroki sighed, glancing at Takako wearily, "what were you THINKING?"

"I couldn't help it," Takako whined.

"TELL HIM THAT!" Hiroki groaned.

Takako shook her head angrily.

"Why not!?" Hiroki asked agonizingly.

"You saw what just happened out there!! He's not going to believe me!!" Takako said angrily. "What, you think I don't want to tell him!? I'm not the stupid one here!! He is!"

Shuuya rolled his eyes and left Hiroki and Takako to bicker; instead he stared at the door to the locker room, reasonably nervous. Shinji might be in there ready to kill him; but he knew he had to fix this shit before it got crazier.

-

Shinji stormed inside the locker room, angrily punching one of the metal lockers as he made his way towards his clothes. A couple of the other boys changing jumped, looked terrified, and ran away still half dressed, but he didn't care. He ripped his gym shirt over his shoulders and angrily started getting dressed again, putting his arms in the wrong sleeves and trying to pull his pants on inside out.

Yutaka came in and put his hand on his Shinji's shoulder; he turned around angrily and Yutaka was astonished to see him CRYING. Not sobbing hysterically, of course, but there were some definite tears rolling down his face.

"Oh, shit! Mim, are you okay?" Yutaka asked.

"Of course I'm okay," Shinji snapped, wiping his face hurriedly, "does this look like someone who's not okay to you!?"

"The spitting image, actually," Yutaka said seriously. "Mim, c'mon, drop the act, talk to me—"

"No. Now screw off, I'm trying to get dressed here," Shinji said testily, trying to pull his pants on over his head. Yutaka watched in mild amusement for at least a minute and a half before Shinji finally realized what he was doing and let out a stream of curses, kicking a locker in his frustration.

"Mim—"

"Shut up Yutaka, getting dressed is hard enough without you pissing me off," Shinji snapped.

Yutaka made a face. "That's the dumbest thing you've ever said, Mim."

"No, the dumbest thing I've ever said is anything about Takako, unless it was preceded by the words I HATE HER," Shinji growled, pulling his uniform shirt on so savagely it ripped a seam. He groaned, loudly, and glared at Yutaka. "You see what you do!?"

"I had nothing to do with that!" Yutaka said defensively. "See, this is your problem, no matter what's going on you always try and block everyone else out! There's nothing wrong with feeling bad, Mim—"

"Yeah, well, there IS something wrong with feeling sorry for yourself!" Shinji interrupted. "And I've been doing enough of it in the last few days! As of right now I am DONE with Takako. The next time I see her stupid face it'll be too soon."

Yutaka tried not to roll his eyes. "You've said that before, Mim."

"Well I mean it this time," Shinji said fiercely, "where the hell does she get off, kissing me like that when she's going out with Shuuya!? She wouldn't know loyalty if it bit her in the ass!"

"Has it occurred to you that Shuuya and Takako aren't really going out?" Yutaka asked hesitantly. "I mean, consider your source here… Yukie's an honor student, but, uh… she's, uhh… not all that _smart_…"

"Yukie wants to bang Shuuya into a wall, you explain to me why she'd start spreading a rumor about him going out with another girl," Shinji snapped. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed, she's not very gifted in the discretion department."

"Well," Yutaka said, "why don't you ask Shuuya for yourself?"

"I don't even want to LOOK at Shuuya right now, I'll be too tempted to KILL him," Shinji said savagely.

"Mim, c'mon, he's one of your best friends! What happened to the bros before hoes rule?" Yutaka whined.

"That expression's crap and you know it, Shinji said, rolling his eyes. "Besides if he was REALLY on my side at all he wouldn't have dated Takako at all, turns out those rumors were true, she really IS a skank—"

"You're the bonehead who told everyone she WAS a backstabbing skank by sleeping with you AND Shuuya! Nobody ever thought she was a skank before you idiots had to start meddling with her!" Yutaka said exasperatedly, starting to get desperate. "There's nothing I can say to change your mind, is there!?"

"No," Shinji answered. "And I don't want to talk to Shuuya either!"

"Then I wouldn't recommend turning around," said Yutaka pleasantly.

"The hell does that mean?" Shinji asked irritably.

"Maybe there's something I can say," Shuuya muttered, tapping on the locker to announce his presence.

In almost lightning speed, Shinji lunged at Shuuya, his body parallel to the ground as he dove. Somehow Yutaka was able to restrain him, although judging by Shinji's rage and Yutaka's strength (or lack thereof), he wouldn't be able to restrain him for long.

"Get off!" Shinji shouted, struggling angrily. He didn't know what was more embarrassing, the fact that a guy half his size was able to restrain him or the fact that he wasn't able to throw him off! "Get off me Yutaka or so help me I'll kill you both!"

"You're not gonna kill anyone," Yutaka said, although he wasn't too sure of that himself. "Shuuya, if you'd like to, gee, I don't know, SAY WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE PLANNING ON SAYING, that'd be nice! I can't hold him forever!"

"Not until you let him go," Shuuya said, "he's gotta calm the hell down first."

"Mim, calm down," Yutaka said, but Shinji shoved Yutaka off him (took him long enough, Shuuya thought dryly) and charged at Shuuya, seizing a handful of Shuuya's gym shirt. Shuuya stubbornly held his ground.

Deciding Shinji wasn't going to calm down, Shuuya clenched his fist in what he hoped was a menacing way. "Knock it off, Mim, don't make me kick your ass," he warned, but Shinji obviously wasn't scared in the slightest, and pulled his fist back to slam it into Shuuya's face. Shuuya held his hand out to protect his face, not wanting to have his own nose broken, (oh the irony) and punched Shinji in his chest before Shinji could hit him.

Shuuya winced a little, not meaning to hit him so hard. Shinji grunted and held his abdomen angrily, doubled over and trying to catch his breath, coughing and swearing furiously.

"Shuuya, HOW IS THAT HELPING!?" Yutaka shouted, facepalming. Shuuya and Shinji would roughhouse occasionally, but they had never gotten into a real fight before!

"You calmed down now?" Shuuya asked, crouching down in front of his friend. "C'mon, man, I didn't hit you that—" Shinji sat up and punched Shuuya clean in the mouth. "Ow! Shit!" Shuuya swore angrily, holding his jaw, "You're really pissing me off here Mim, I'm just trying to get a word in here—"

But Shinji clearly wasn't about to listen to anything. He stood back up again, still pissed off, and Shuuya seized him by his shoulders, forcefully shoving him backwards until his back pressed against the lockers. Shinji was clearly outraged at being trapped, but before he could lunge at Shuuya's throat again Shuuya grabbed his arms with one hand, a fistful of his short spiky hair in the other, and held him in place.

"Get your hands off me," Shinji snarled, but Shuuya shoved him back again, hitting his head against the lockers.

"Not until you calm the hell down," Shuuya snapped, "and people say I'm the impulsive one! Get a hold of yourself, man!"

"Don't you talk to me about getting a hold on myself," Shinji snapped, "you're the backstabber from where I stand—"

"God dammit, Shinji, since when did you start listening to Yukie for news updates!? As usual, she's got no idea what she's talking about!" Shuuya said angrily. "News flash, Mim, I'm your best friend! How the hell could you think I'd go so low as to steal your girl? Give me some god damned credit!"

"This sounds familiar," Yutaka said sarcastically, "good golly gee, where have I heard this before?"

"Get bent, Yutaka, this has nothing to do with you," Shinji snapped.

"Don't talk to him like that," Shuuya snarled, slamming Shinji's head against the locker again in response.

"Do that again and I'll rip your head off," Shinji said angrily, and Shuuya snorted.

"Because you've done such a great job so far," he said. "Mim, I don't know what else to tell you except the truth. I am not, nor have I ever, dated Takako. Nor do I particularly want to, she scares the living hell out of me. I've said my piece, I don't really care if you believe me or not." Shuuya released his grip on Shinji's hair and stomped out of the locker room.

"Well, you heard it straight from the source," Yutaka said tentatively, "are you alright? Don't rip my head off, I'm just wondering!" he said quickly.

"I'm not going to rip your head off," Shinji said shortly. "I'm thinking."

"Oh. OK."

Yutaka waited about eight seconds before speaking again. "Uh, Mim, we kinda have to get to class—"

"Eh, I don't care," Shinji said indifferently. "You can go if you want."

"Don't be stupid," Yutaka said, sitting down on the bench across from where Shinji was sitting on the floor. "You don't believe what Shuuya said, do you?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Shinji said slowly, "I do. But I still think he's an asshole!"

"What? Why?" Yutaka asked, all hopes of a peaceful reunion dashed.

"Think about it Yutaka," Shinji said impatiently, "one of those two had to start telling people this, there's no way Yukie and her big mouth would've thought of this on her own. She doesn't invent anything, she hears shit, twists it out of proportion and tells everyone she knows. So either Takako or Shuuya started this."

"Aww, Mim, why the hell d'you have to, I dunno, psychoanalyze everything you hear?!" Yutaka asked with a groan. "Takako's still crazy about you, I saw the way she kissed you earlier!"

"She's kissed me like that before, that's no proof of anything," Shinji said indifferently. "I should've shoved her right off me… I don't know why I DIDN'T—"

Yutaka rolled his eyes. "I know why you didn't, you still like her regardless of whatever it is you're saying. I'm sick of you over thinking everything. Honestly, Mim, is it really worth it? Everyone at school (except me!) thinks you're a jackass. Takako's obviously crazy about you. And if you two just work shit out everything'll go back to how it used to be—"

"Would you just leave me the hell alone!? I don't know what I mean!" Shinji exploded, annoyed. "Can't a guy get a break around here!?"

"You're telling me," Yutaka muttered.

-

You know, loyal readers, writing this chapter made me think about the chapter in the BR manga when Kiriyama tore out the gym teacher's eye. There were 24 witnesses (counting the gym teacher, not counting Shuuya who was kicked out of class and Kawada who was skipping)… `HOW THE HELL DID KIRIYAMA NOT GET EXPELLED!?

I mean, typical teenagers can't STFU about, say, Shinji and Takako making out in the hallway—imagine if the kind of gossiping in this story had happened with Kiriyama _ripping out a guy's eye_!?

I get the gym teacher was a dick, but the reactions of the guys watching was pretty much 'D:', even Kiriyama's gang—you're telling me _none_ of those guys said anything about it outside that gym? People didn't wonder why the gym teacher lost an eye before he quit working at the school?

I guess it's along the same line of logic as Kiriyama can shoot Shinji 246872648726742 times and Shinji can still run like a maniac _and_ miss every shot he fires off at Kiriyama, but sheesh!

If Kiriyama had been expelled, there would have been no Program (more accurately, Kiriyama just wouldn't have been in Class B and therefore couldn't have mowed down his classmates like fleshy dominos). Bet you boys are regretting not tattling on Kiriyama, huh?

My original thought was they didn't want to cross Kiriyama (get Mr. Prestigious kicked out of school, Mr. Prestigious and co. come kick your ass after class, motherbitches), but w/e, it was just supposed to be for shock (and for Hiroki to make a pass at Kayoko ;D (sorry imjuzakyd)), but that's just something that randomly occurred to me…

While I'm here, do any of you have a Twitter? If you do, follow me (at)Jenipunch, good source of both checking up on what I'm doing (if you care) and nagging at me to update.

Anyway, happy new year, folks! Here's to lots of awesome BR stories from everyone (and especially meeeeeeee (just kidding))


	28. Comedy and Tragedy

ATTENTION EVERYONE IN ONE CHAPTER THIS STORY WILL BE OOOOOVER

Ah, that feels good to say. XD I'm so happy I didn't get bored with this story and I'm actually going to finish it!

I always get commitment issues with long stories, I get bored and whatnot so I never end up finishing them.

Let's see, this is chapter… 28?

Oh, fuck. I can't end on chapter 29, that's just gross. Time to do some editing so I can finish this up in two more chapters instead.

ATTENTION EVERYONE PLEASE IGNORE THE ABOVE STATEMENT THERE WILL BE TWO MORE CHAPTERS AND THEN THIS STORY WILL BE OOOOVER

*cough* That's better! ;)

And now with no further ado, I bring you chapter 28!

-

"Well that was a bust," Hiroki sighed.

"Shut up," Takako grumbled, "I don't want to talk about it."

"If you say so."

Takako ate her lunch half-heartedly, well aware Hiroki was studying her. "Stop," she said finally.

"Stop what?" Hiroki asked.

"Stop it with the god damned staring!" Takako exploded. "Geez!"

"I'm not staring at you! I'm thinking," Hiroki exclaimed. "Takako, you know I like Kayoko, right?"

"What? Of course I do, you never stop talking about it," Takako said, rolling her eyes. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, I really like her," Hiroki told her. "In fact, I'm thinking about asking her out, but I'm not sure."

"What've I been telling you? Stop dithering and do it already," Takako said, annoyed. "If you like someone, then ask them out!" Seeing the smirk on Hiroki's face, she realized she was tricked.

"You saw what a jackass he's being, there's no way Mimura's going to calm down about this," Takako snapped.

"Mimura? Who said anything about Mimura?" Hiroki asked, grinning still. "I was talking about Kayoko."

"Shut up," Takako scowled, "You don't have any idea what you're talking about."

-

Yoshi glanced over at his best friend hesitantly; Shuuya was sitting on top of the jungle gym in the back of the orphanage with his Gibson guitar on his lap, angrily strumming away. Obviously he was pissed off.

"Is everything alright with Shuuya?" Ms. Ryoko asked Yoshi, who jumped, not seeing her coming.

"I've no idea," Yoshi admitted, "he hasn't told me anything so far…"

"This is about Shinji, isn't it? Did they have a fight?" Ms. Ryoko asked.

"Yeah," Yoshi said, "big time. I'll try talking to him, Ms. Ryoko, he might talk to me—"

"Well, good luck," Ms. Ryoko said, patting his back reassuringly.

Yoshi hesitantly walked over to Shuuya, whose back was turned. "Shu?" he asked.

Shuuya looked up from a particularly loud guitar riff and turned around. "What?" he asked, annoyed.

"Everything okay?" Yoshi asked.

"No." Shuuya turned around again.

"Come ON, Shu! It's me! We tell each other everything!" Yoshi protested. He tried a different approach. "What'd Mim do this time?"

Shuuya sighed and turned around. "He took one look at me and tried to kill me. Yutaka held him down for about three seconds before he lunged at me, and I tried hitting him to make him calm down some, but that didn't work out too well—"

"No shit," Yoshi muttered.

"ANYWAY—I'm gonna ignore that—he hit me back, and I slammed him against the lockers and told him I wasn't dating Takako and I never have. I left before he could say anything else, but I don't even think he HEARD me—"

"Maybe you're handling this the wrong way," Yoshi said thoughtfully. "Mim's too pissed off to think straight…"

"I've been thinking the same way myself. If I could just get Takako to pull her head out of her ass, she might be willing to talk to Mim herself. He probably won't hit HER," Shuuya groaned. "I swear, people make the simplest things so ridiculously complicating it makes my head spin."

"Forget who we're talking about here?" Yoshi laughed. "The concept of actually liking a girl must really be confusing the hell out of Mim, because I've never seen him act like such a nutcase before."

"Tell me about it. I think I'm gonna talk to Takako tomorrow, then, her head's not COMPLETELY stuffed inside her ass… then again this whole mess IS half her fault," Shuuya said with a resigned groan.

-

Shinji had gone home angry again; he ignored his sister's hopeful interrogation and stormed upstairs to his room, slamming the door behind him.

He was well aware that Shuuya had probably been telling the truth; Shuuya wasn't cut out to be a liar, he was too stupid and optimistic to know how to do it properly. In retrospect, he probably didn't have the balls to steal a girl from another guy as it was. Hell, he couldn't even ask out Noriko Nakagawa, who was sweetness incarnate.

Takako grabbed him and kissed him. He kept replaying the moment in his mind, but he couldn't come to a conclusion as to why she kissed him. There wasn't anybody around to play up, and he couldn't think of why else she would do it, other than the fact that she genuinely wanted to She also latched onto him once he pulled away from her, and he could hear the pleading note in her voice as she held onto his arm.

The only conclusion he was coming to was that Shuuya and Takako weren't lying and there were no evil motives behind anything they were doing; Shuuya was trying to fix things up between the two of them and Takako apparently believed him and was now trying to convince him that she liked him too.

But that seemed way too easy…

Maybe Yutaka's right, he thought with a groan, I AM overanalyzing things…

-

Wow, not even 1,000 words. Go me!


	29. The Penultimate Journey

Two things: the next chapter will be the last and this god-awful story WILL FINALLY BE DONE, and two, Trent Foley, you can beg to be my Shinji all you want, but I'm currently not accepting applications for the position as my boyfriend might have a problem with it. Thanks.

-

Unfortunately for Shuuya, the next day was a Saturday, meaning there wasn't any school today. Still, he'd be damned to let another day go by without talking to Takako, especially because his sudden balls-of-steel feeling hadn't gone away yet.

After walking throughout the small district of Shiroiwa at least twice, Shuuya hadn't seen hide or hair of Takako; he called Hiroki to ask if he knew where she was, but Hiroki was in the middle of a tournament and wouldn't talk.

"So you'll pick up the phone, but you won't spend the time to tell me where Takako is?" Shuuya said, outraged.

"I don't KNOW where she is—OW! Dammit, Takami! I'm on the phone!" Hiroki said, "Shuuya, I'm in the middle of a eight-way melee, I'll call you back later!"

Shuuya sighed. He should've asked what Takako's cell phone number was.

Now, if I was Takako, where would I be?

He saw Mitsuko, Hirono, and Yoshimi go by, all three of them dressed like prostitutes and clearly up to no good (then again, that was normal for those three) and figured it'd be too much of a coincidence if they'd seen Takako.

Still, worth a shot. "Hey!" he yelled, headed over to them.

"Screw off, we're defenseless! Oh, it's you, Shuuya," Mitsuko said, scowling. "What do you want? We're going to be late."

Defenseless my ass, Shuuya thought. "I'm on a manhunt. Have you guys seen Takako?" he asked.

"That lousy bitch? If I saw her I would've killed her, after what she did to my face—" Mitsuko stopped. "You know… I could swear we saw her leaving the mall, but I can't be sure it was her."

"I think it was, Mitsu," Yoshimi said, eager to please, "she had the same hair and everything!"

"It was her? Fuck. Why didn't we kick her ass?" Mitsuko asked disdainfully.

"Probably because she'd beat the hell out of _all three of us_ this time around," Hirono groaned.

Mitsuko glared at Hirono. "Well if you'd stopped being a damn pussy and stabbed her in the throat, we wouldn't have to worry about that, now would we!?" She apparently forgot Shuuya was there. "Umm, err, did I say stabbed? Heheheh… I mean, um—"

"Where was she?" Shuuya asked eagerly.

"Leaving the mall, but looked like she was heading northward," Mitsuko said.

"How long ago was this?" Shuuya asked.

"Like five minutes ago," Hirono said. "I thought you two weren't going out anymore?"

"We never were!" Shuuya sighed. "I'm trying to talk to her to get her to go talk to Mim, and why am I telling you three this? You don't care! Anyway, thanks for the help, I'll see you later!"

While vowing to bail Mitsuko, Hirono, and Yoshimi out of jail one day, if he ever found them there, Shuuya ran off in the direction Takako had been spotted in high spirits, and sure enough, there she was, carrying two handfuls of giant shopping bags and not paying any attention to her surroundings.

-

Takako scowled. Normally shopping for clothes always cheered her up, but she'd hit every store in the mall, bought enough clothes to wear a different outfit for every day for the next month and not wear the same thing twice, yet she still felt like crap.

Stupid Mimura. This is all his fault, she grumbled. Well, it wasn't ALL his fault, but he was fun to blame.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!" Takako screamed, as two arms shot out from behind and wrapped around her. "HEY WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!? LET ME GO!!" she shouted, thrashing and kicking wildly as she was dragged off the sidewalk down the alley.

"OW!! Would you stop!? It's me!"

Shuuya. Well in that case…

"Ow! Ow! Stop it! OW!" Shuuya let her go quickly, stooping down to rub his shins angrily. "Was that necessary?"

"Why the hell did you just KIDNAP me!?" Takako demanded, enraged. "You couldn't've just called my NAME like a NORMAL PERSON would've!?"

"First, that's absolutely no fun. And second, that doesn't really work on you anymore," Shuuya told her. "But the main reason I've abducted you is because I need to talk to you, sans thousands of our adoring fans. It's kind of scary how many fans we got so fast, Shukako is really popular, we could almost give Mimkako or Takamim or whatever the hell you two are a run for the money!"

"Get to the point," Takako sighed.

"Right, sorry. Look, Takako, I tried to talk to Mim, but he tried to kill me again. I don't think he's planning on stopping these attacks until I'm actually dead," Shuuya said, looking nervous.

"Hire a bodyguard," Takako said indifferently.

"Thanks for your concern," Shuuya said dryly. "Takako, I'll get to the point. I tried to get Mim to pull his head out of his ass and nearly lost my jaw bone as a result."

"What'd you think was going to happen? He doesn't listen!" Takako rolled her eyes.

"Oh, and you're one to be talking!?" Shuuya asked incredulously.

Takako's eyes narrowed. "Beat it, Shuuya, I've got more clothes to buy—"

"God dammit, Takako, would you shut up and listen to me!? I know Shinji better than anybody and I've been trying to get him to pull his head out of his ass and stop this insanity for months now!! I'm on my last rope!!" Shuuya said angrily. "Don't interrupt me! Takako, I swear to God and everything else worth swearing on when I say this, but he's not just crazy about you, he's in love with you!"

"What!?" Takako asked. "In love with me!?"

"He hasn't said it in words—well, at least I haven't heard him if he has—but I can tell he is, it's how I feel about Noriko—er, um, I mean… oh, forget it. He's beyond desperate, you're the only challenge he's ever had! And he's too STUBBORN to realize he loves it AND he loves you!! God dammit, you didn't know Mim before all this bullshit started, but I've NEVER seen him like this before, you're driving him insane!! So for all that's still good and pure in this forsaken universe, GO TALK TO HIM!! You're going to go talk to him whether you want to or not!!" Shuuya finished, taking a deep breath and eying Takako. "I'm done."

After a few minutes of no response, Shuuya got impatient.

"OY! Takako!? Anyone home!?" Shuuya asked, snapping his fingers in her face.

Takako jumped. "In love with me!?" she repeated.

"You didn't catch any of what I just said, did you?" Shuuya groaned. "Don't make me repeat myself, there's no way I can re-create the drama!"

"He thinks I'm dating YOU! He's not even gonna look at me!" Takako said.

"That's something ELSE you and Mim have in common, you always think of the worst case scenario for EVERYTHING. For the love of God, PLEASE, Takako, go TALK TO HIM," Shuuya groaned.

"He loves me? For real?" Takako asked.

"As far as I can tell, yes," Shuuya replied.

"Would you swear on it?" Takako asked.

"I already did in the first speech! You were still listening then!"

"OK, OK, I get it. I think you're right," Takako groaned.

"Finally, someone figures it out," Shuuya moaned. "Maybe everything'll go back to the way it's SUPPOSED TO BE…"

"If we're lucky," Takako agreed.

"Are you going to talk to him now?" Shuuya asked hopefully. "You should, that way you guys won't get mobbed at school or anything—"

"I might as well. Where is he?" Takako asked reluctantly.

"Probably at his place moping," Shuuya said. "You're going? Seriously?"

Takako shrugged. "I'm out of money anyway. Where's his house?"

Shuuya proceeded to give directions to Shinji's imaginary house in this imaginary neighborhood in this imaginary town in this very-real country of Japan, all of which the narration is too lazy to make up. "Second turn after the palm trees," he said, "oh, and, uh, good luck."

Takako nodded, shifting her weight on her other platform boot. "Thanks, Shuuya." She kissed him on his cheek. "And, uh, sorry about all the shit I've done to you this year even though you deserved it." The last part was said very quickly.

"Don't mention it, and I heard that!" Shuuya said, making a face. Takako returned the favor, and headed off in the direction of Shinji's house.

Shuuya sighed, shaking his head. Crazy, that girl… she's perfect for Mim, he thought with a grin.

-

Takako was barely four steps into Shinji's housing complex when he ran by her. He didn't seem to notice her; he was using an MP3 player, he was shirtless, and he wasn't paying attention to anything else.

Deciding to keep a tail on him, she followed close behind him, not letting him get more than a block's distance from her. He was running at a decent pace; he could probably move a lot faster, but Takako guessed he was just exercising.

Her feet were starting to hurt inside her platform boots; if she knew she'd be running a damn marathon, she'd have worn her track sneakers and left her multiple shopping bags at home. Still, she persisted, and when Shinji took a final turn and began to slow down, stopping at a two-story house with a basketball hoop visible in the backyard, she hid.

Shinji unlocked the door and went inside; Takako caught a glimpse of his face before he disappeared inside. He wasn't wearing the brace anymore; it had been a couple of days, his nose probably wasn't hurting as bad.

He also didn't seem to be wearing the perpetual scowl he'd been wearing when she'd last seen him, but that didn't help to encourage her much. He's not going to talk to me, I'm just wasting my time, she thought with a groan. Dammit…

Ah, god dammit. I'm Takako Chigusa. Takako Chigusa runs from nobody or nothing! Takako Chigusa is _invincible_!

Deciding it was now or never, Takako headed up the front driveway, dropping her shopping bags in front of a few palm trees. Subconsciously smoothing her hair down, and hoping she wasn't sweating too badly, Takako took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

-

One more chapter and I'm done I'm done I'm done I'm done I'm done sjfjsklfjksjfsjkfjs SO MUCH JOY I CAN WORK ON OTHER STUFF NOOOOOOW

And of course the sequel, but don't get me started on that, kthnxbye


	30. All's Well That Ends Well

The last chapter! Hooray! Go me!

-

Shinji stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water, groaning as the water sprayed his aching muscles. Running away his troubles was a bad idea… basketball season had ended, and he was completely out of shape. He'd only gone two and a half miles before he knew he had to turn back and come home, which added to about five miles overall. Ouch.

Well, at least his sore muscles were a good distraction from the tight feeling in his chest and his nose, which occasionally throbbed with pain whenever he sniffed too much. Thank goodness it wasn't allergy season, or he'd really be screwed…

Ikumi obviously didn't want to come with on a five-mile jog, so she stayed at home watching TV instead. Shinji loved his little sister like crazy, but she was truthfully annoying the hell out of him with her constant interrogation squad routine; he couldn't look angry anymore without her getting upset and wanting to know what was going on.

"Shinji?" called Ikumi from the other side of the bathroom door.

Speak of the little devil. "I'm in the shower, Ikumi," Shinji replied, squeezing shampoo into his hair.

"Umm, there's someone here to see you," Ikumi said, sounding nervous. "They said it's important…"

"Important?" Shinji repeated, scrubbing his hair. "Important like how?"

"I don't know! Come see," Ikumi whined.

Shinji rolled his eyes, reluctantly rinsed the shampoo out of his hair and got out of the shower, tying a towel around his hips and opening the bathroom door. Ikumi, who was waiting outside, took one look at her brother and giggled.

"Oh, shut up," Shinji told her, pushing his sister playfully on the way to the door. He glanced out the front window, expecting an annoying neighbor with a petition or one of those door-to-door salesmen, and nearly dropped his towel in surprise.

It was Takako. And she didn't look angry, for once. If anything, she looked nervous.

"Thanks for not letting her in," Shinji muttered to his sister, who was still giggling. He opened the door, forgetting temporarily he was only wearing a towel. "What're you doing here?" he asked, fixing his facial features to look annoyed.

Takako stared at him. "I need to talk to you… but your sister here didn't mention anything about you being, uh…"

"Naked?" Ikumi offered, giggling.

"I was going to say "occupied", but the kid's not far off," Takako muttered, awkwardly shifting her weight from her left to right leg and trying not to gawk too much.

"Shut up," Shinji grumbled, aware that his face was burning. "Want to give me five minutes?"

"Take ten," Takako said quickly, looking embarrassed. "Sorry to drop by like this, I didn't know—"

"It's fine, let's have this conversation when I have clothes on," Shinji said quickly, and nearly broke his neck sprinting up the stairs back to the bathroom, making a mental note to tell his sister to ask people who came to the door what their NAME was before delivering their messages…

-

With Takako waiting downstairs, he wouldn't be able to finish his shower, but Shinji didn't think he'd ever gotten dressed so quickly before. The only thing he REALLY wanted to know was, well… why was she HERE? Chances were, if she wanted to kill him she wouldn't come to his own house to do so. She didn't look mad either.

His hair was soaking wet; he tried drying it off with a towel and was able to ruffle it up enough to look decent, and did a quick breath spray just to be safe. He checked his hair again and mentally kicked himself. It's just Takako, he told himself, and she's probably got murder on her mind, she hasn't spoken to me since—

Stuffing his feet into his sneakers, he went back downstairs, then ran back upstairs again to do another hair check.

-

"He's not usually this slow," Ikumi told Takako, shaking her head.

Takako nodded, already feeling embarrassed. The idea of admitting she was wrong was humiliating enough, but then naked Shinji has to come to the damn door and she had to be all

"Uh, sorry," Shinji said, coming back in the living room, dressed this time in shorts and a t-shirt. "So, uh…"

"Umm…" Takako said, and glanced at Ikumi.

"Ikumi, out," Shinji told her. Ikumi pouted, but she left.

"Cute kid," Takako said, racking her brain for something more intelligent to say.

"Yeah, but I guarantee you she's got her ear pressed against the door over there," Shinji agreed, and heard a surprised yelp as his sister ran out of the kitchen. He glanced back at Takako, slightly annoyed that she hadn't gotten to the point yet. "So, what's this thing you had to tell me?"

Takako looked very uncomfortable. "I… uh… stop staring at me," she muttered.

"What else am I supposed to look at? I'm talking to you, aren't I?" Shinji asked.

"This is hard enough to say," she grumbled. "Look, Mimura…"

Shinji gestured "keep talking" with his hand, and she scowled. "Look, I don't say this often, it's tough to get the words out!"

"Just say it," Shinji said, rolling his eyes, "It's not like you've never spoken to me or—"

"I'm sorry," Takako said, looking queasy.

Shinji didn't see _that_ coming. "You're sorry? For what? You haven't done anything."

"I'm sorry for not believing you," she mumbled. "All those times you said you liked me… I, uh… I was a little… uncertain."

"That's putting it lightly," Shinji scoffed, "you blew me off like eight times."

"Hey, let's just remember who started all this crap in the first place!" Takako interrupted angrily. "Last time I checked, YOU'RE the one who started screwing with me, tough guy! It's not MY fault you started liking me!"

"Yes, it is!" Shinji interjected. "It IS your fault! You're the one who kept fighting back! If you just gave up and cried or whatever I never would've fallen for you!"

"Oh, so because I'm not some wimpy bitch, it's my fault you're claiming to like me?" Takako demanded.

"Yeah!" Shinji said, feeling remarkably stupid all of a sudden. "Anyway I don't know what the hell you're apologizing for, I'm the jackass who started all this… and I'm the one who kissed you first… and made you look like a skank… and—" he stopped and scowled. "You can stop me anytime, you know."

"I know," Takako said, smirking.

Annoyed, Shinji continued. "But… I know I said I was in love with you when I was playing up the crowd, but… uh… well, every time I said it to you when we were alone I swear I meant it."

"I know you did," Takako said softly.

Shinji apparently didn't hear her. "And I never should've pulled that crap with Mitsuko. I was just so pissed off, you know what it feels like to be crazy about someone and they don't like you back?"

"You know how it feels to see someone you're crazy about with someone you hate, all in a stupid attempt to hurt you?" Takako asked. "It doesn't just suck, it feels like you got punched in the stomach and all the wind got knocked out of you."

"Yeah, I know… it's how I felt when I heard you were dating my best friend," Shinji muttered. "I didn't think at all when I did that, Takako… I was so pissed off I wasn't thinking straight and I wanted you to feel as crappy as I did."

"I'm sure you heard how I took it," Takako said, shifting on the couch, "I found Mitsuko and beat the hell out of her, and then—"

"She found me and broke my nose, I know, I know," Shinji grumbled, not wanting to be reminded.

"I swear, when you burst into that bathroom throwing up like that—"

"I was going to apologize right there," Shinji told her, "but I didn't because your dad dragged me out, and truthfully I thought I was gonna hurl again—"

"I threw up on you, didn't I? I think we'd be even," Takako said, smiling a little.

"So, we're both sorry," Shinji said, sitting back on the couch and propping his legs up on the coffee table. "So what's this mean now? A truce? Unwritten terms of surrender?"

"Absolutely not," Takako told him, punching him in the arm.

"Ow," Shinji said, laughing. "Hey, you caved first!"

"Alright, fine, shut up. I'm not done," she said, poking his chest to shut him up.

"Well, I'm waiting," Shinji told her, smirking. "On second thought, I got a question for you. How come you didn't take me seriously?"

"I figured you were being a typical guy and lying through your teeth about it," Takako said, shrugging. "All the time I've spent with Sugi, and all the times you've lied your ass off—"

"How'd you figure out I wasn't screwing around anymore?" Shinji asked.

"Shuuya," she said, smirking when he scowled. "He pulled me over for a quick chat earlier."

Shinji scowled. "Shuuya, huh? Now I've got another reason to kill him."

"Hey, don't be mad at Shuuya," Takako told him, "he's the one who told me you weren't bullshitting me, and—"

"Damn his big mouth," Shinji muttered.

"—and he basically talked some sense into me," Takako finished, her tone getting softer, her eyes shining as she grinned at him.

Shinji found himself smiling back, reaching for her hand. "Knew you'd come around," he teased. She did like him, she really did, she wanted to be with him, and it wasn't all some horrible joke like he thought it was…

Takako shook her head. "Oh, please," she said, but she was still smiling, letting him hold her hand.

"I guess I'm not gonna kill Shuuya then," Shinji said reluctantly, "But how come you believed Shuuya instead of me anyway? He lied too."

"Only because you told him to," Takako grinned. "Besides, if it wasn't for him I'd probably still be trying to think of new ways to kill you anyway."

"You were too? I'm failing three classes," Shinji rolled his eyes. "Not that I care or anything, but if I'm gonna graduate I gotta pass those damn exams. Shit. You've been driving me so damn crazy I haven't been able to concentrate."

"Don't blame that on me," Takako smiled. "You know, apologizing isn't the _only_ reason I'm here…"

"Oh really? Come to break my neck too?" Shinji smirked. "Or could you not wait until tomorrow to get your hands on me?"

"It's amazing you're able to move carrying that giant ego around," Takako said, shoving him lightly. "The correct answer is option number two."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Shinji smiled and put his arm around her, pulling her closer. "Did you REALLY figure my master plan out?" he asked.

"Is that the one when you kill Shuuya, then annoy the hell out of me until I give up?" Takako guessed, curling up against his chest.

"No. Did you figure out that I really am crazy about you, and that my best friends have all been driven crazy because of it? That embarrassing and annoying the hell out of you was just a bonus, and all I really wanted to do was kiss you?" Shinji said.

"What, that? I've known that all along," she grinned, "I was just playing along."

"Uh huh. Well, in that case—" Takako cut him off by leaning closer to him and tilting her head back to kiss him. For the first time, their kiss was slower, deeper, not as crazed and frantic as before. Takako slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, running her fingers through his damp hair. He pulled her as close as possible, remembering that when the kiss ended, she wouldn't try to kill him or run off. She'd stay with him, she'd stop screwing with his head, his friends would talk to him, and Shuuya especially would be overjoyed to learn she was no longer violent. She was his now, and nobody else was getting her as long as he was around.

Shinji pulled back, their lips still so close they were almost touching. He opened his eyes, smiling at the happy expression on her face. "So," he said, "you wanna go out sometime?"

Takako couldn't help but laugh. "You got it," she grinned, shaking her head at the irony. "You _are_ much better looking than Shuuya…"

"Eww!" whined Ikumi, from the room over, when she came in. "You made me get out so you could do THAT?"

Takako burst out laughing. Shinji was not amused. "Go away," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"No," said Ikumi, sticking her tongue out at her brother, "so you can suck face some more? Ewww!"

"Shut up! You'll understand when you're older—no, you won't, actually, since you're not going to be dating until you're _30_—"

"No fair!" whined Ikumi.

"Go do your homework," Shinji attempted.

"It's Saturday!"

"And you have school Monday, right? Get to it! And you stop laughing," he said, glaring at Takako, who was cracking up next to him.

"I think I might just like you after all," said Ikumi to Takako, smiling, "'cept you've got weird taste in boys…"

"I really do," agreed Takako, smirking over at Shinji.

Shinji sighed. "I'm about to go upstairs and you won't be allowed to lay your hands on me until Monday," he informed her levelly.

"Oh, please, like I believe that—" Takako's eyes got wide suddenly, giving Shinji a cause for alarm.

"What?" Shinji asked, confused.

"…Monday," Takako repeated, blinking, "Shinji, what the fuck—"

"HEY," shouted Ikumi.

"Hell, sorry—"

"That's still a bad word!"

Takako ignored the squawking child, finally. "What are we going to tell people?" she asked.

Shinji shrugged. "That the insanity has finally come to an end? Come to think of it, I've got nothing either considering I never thought we'd actually get to this point—"

"Wait a minute, you told me you _knew_ it was going to end up like this," said Takako, narrowing her eyes.

"I was bluffing through my teeth," Shinji informed her.

"Oh." Takako thought for a second. "I've got an idea. Let's not say anything at all."

"Like Yukie and her telescope aren't zoomed in on us right now?"

"…that's actually really creepy," said Takako, considering this, "no, no, I mean—I think the only surprising thing we can actually tell anyone is we're actually together again, really…"

"Who cares? I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'd really like it if people would just leave us the hell alone," Shinji complained, "bother Shuuya, or something!"

"Shuuya's boring," Takako pointed out.

Shinji opened his mouth and found he didn't quite have it in him to defend Shuuya. "Yeah, good point," he said agreeably, "so, uh… now what…?"

"I would suggest more making out but your sister's in the room," said Takako.

"I'M GOING," huffed Ikumi, stomping off. She hadn't been gone five seconds before Shinji grabbed his girlfriend and they made with the making out.

-

And there we go. Feels damn good to hit 'Completed' on this sucker, seeing as it took long enough… you might be wondering as to why the ending is so open-ended, but that's both because A I can't think of anything else, and B, there's a sequel on the way. Keep your eyes peeled for that (which will hopefully be BETTER than this) and thanks for all the reviews/feedback/ect!

Wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for you guys, especially periperi and imjuzakyd kicking my ass out of my BR boredom.

Thanks also to Trent Foley, for being a total creeper… dude, for having a British name you sure aren't very charming…


End file.
